MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. The head of the State Duma’s committee on defense, Andrey Kartapolov, believes that if the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics join Russia, their volunteers will become full-fledged military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces.
"In military terms, we will certainly strengthen [the situation in the event the DPR and LPR become part of Russia]. There are many aspects involved, starting from the fact that those guys who are now fighting as members of the volunteer units of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics will become full-fledged soldiers of the Russian army. This significantly changes the situation in a number of ways," he told reporters on Tuesday.
On Monday, the LPR’s Civic Chamber asked the republic’s leader Leonid Pasechnik to call an urgent referendum on recognizing the republic as a constituent territory of Russia. The message said that this step would make the LPR’s territory secure and open up new opportunities for its reconstruction. Later, the Donetsk People’s Republic’s Civic Chamber addressed the republic’s leader, Denis Pushilin, and People's Council (parliament) with a similar request. Later, Pushilin in a telephone conversation with Pasechnik suggested synchronizing preparations for the referendums. On Tuesday, a similar request for holding a referendum, addressed to the Kherson Region’s military-civilian administration was made by the region’s Public Council.