Russian lawmakers' request for Putin to recognize Ukraine's breakaway regions gives him another card to play

Kyiv — Russian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to send a formal request to President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that if Putin were to sign the legislation, it would "amount to the Russian government's wholesale rejection of its commitments" under previously negotiated, but never fully implemented peace agreements known as the Minsk Accords.

Both the West and Russia have said they view the Minsk Accords, which ended major fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in Donbas in 2015, as roadmaps to a diplomatic solution to the current crisis. While the war in Donbas was quieted by the agreements, the fighting never completely stopped. Ukraine's government says the grinding conflict has now left at least 14,000 people dead.