Ukraine cuts ties with Syria after it recognizes Donetsk, Luhansk as independent
Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Syria on June 29 after Damascus recognized the independence of the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the decision on June 29 in a video posted on Telegram.
"There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria," Zelensky said, adding that the sanctions pressure against Syria "will be even greater."
Donetsk and Luhansk, commonly known as the Donbas, currently are at the center of the fighting in the war Moscow launched in February shortly after recognizing the districts as independent.
Syria has previously sided with Russia in territorial disputes. It agreed in 2018 to recognize Abkhazia and a second breakaway Georgian region, South Ossetia, as independent countries. That move prompted Tbilisi to cut diplomatic ties with Damascus.