MOSCOW, Mar 28 Questions about a possible referendum in the LPR on joining the Russian Federation should be asked the head of the republic, this is a sovereign state whose independence Russia has recognized, said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov. Earlier, the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, did not rule out that in the near future a referendum on joining the Russian Federation could be held on the territory of the republic. «I don't know «Questions should still be addressed to Pasechnik. After all, we are talking about a state whose independence and sovereignty has been recognized by the Russian Federation. Therefore, this is a sovereign state and you need to go there for clarification,» Peskov told reporters, answering a question about the position the Kremlin on this matter and when a referendum can take place. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. With the support of the Russian Armed Forces, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive, but there is no talk of the occupation of Ukraine, the President of Russia emphasized. DNR and LNRV Luhansk allowed an early end of the operation to liberate the LNR
