Britain said a request by Russia's parliament that President Vladimir Putin should recognize the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent showed "flagrant disregard" for Moscow's peace process commitments.
"If this request were accepted, it would represent a further attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, signal an end to the Minsk process and demonstrate a Russian decision to choose a path of confrontation over dialog," British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Thursday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday criticized the move by Russian lawmakers towards recognizing the two Russian-backed breakaway regions as independent.