Russia's integration of Luhansk and Donetsk militias will have lasting cost, MOD says

Russia's integration of militias from the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republic will result in a cost lasting longer than Moscow's war in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has said.

The militias formally became part of Russia's military on 31 December 2021, with Vladimir Putin presenting "the formations with their battle colours during a visit to Rostov-on-Don".

"Russia claims the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) are intrinsic parts of the Russian Federation following the fixed accession referendums of September 2022," the MOD said.

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"However, it has discreetly controlled both since 2014, creating [DPR's] 1st Army Corps and [LPR's] 2nd Army Corps and supporting them with Russian military officers.

"The status and identities of the [DPR] and [LNR] likely remain divisive within the Russian system.

"Even before the February 2022 invasion, these territories represented a significant drain on Russian finances.

"Now the Kremlin has overtly committed to supporting them, they will likely constitute a large political, diplomatic and financial cost for Russia which will last well beyond the current phase of the conflict."

The update comes after UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly rejected Putin's calls for a 36-hour ceasefire, stating they would "do nothing" for peace.

"A 36 hour pause of Russian attacks will do nothing to advance the prospects for peace. Russia must permanently withdraw its forces, relinquish its illegal control of Ukrainian territory and end its barbaric attacks against innocent civilians," he tweeted.