LUGANSK, May 12./TASS/. The authorities of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) will make a decision on joining Russia together with the people, after the hostilities end, LPR leader Leonid Pasechnik told journalists on Thursday, when marking the eighth anniversary of republic’s independence.

"Of course, we will make the decision together with the people although our decision was made back in May 2014, when we all voted for unification with the Russian Federation. But first, we must liberate our territories. This is the primary objective that we are facing," Pasechnik said, replying to a question.

According to him, the republic has major tasks ahead to restore its economy. "To our great regret, over the past eight years, and even before the start of hostilities, before 2014, the region has seen no investment. We have inherited a very difficult economy," he stressed.

"A simple example - the roads have not been constructed practically since the 1980s-1990s. The water supply system, electricity supply network and so on are in the same condition," he went on to say.

Residents of the Lugansk Region together with the Russian-speaking population of the Ukraine’s southeast refused to recognize the legitimacy of those who seized power amid the chaos that had erupted from the February 2014 coup in Ukraine. In mid-April, the new Ukrainian regime launched an operation in Donbass, which soon morphed into large-scale hostilities with the use of armored combat vehicles and aviation. Amid these developments, the Lugansk People’s Republic was proclaimed at a meeting in Lugansk on April 27, 2014. A referendum was held on May 11 of that year with a voter turnout of 81%, with 96.2% voting for independence. On the following day, May 12, 2014, the LPR declared its independence. This year, the republic marks its independence date having attained a new status. On February 21, the Russian Federation recognized its sovereignty.