Russia announced Tuesday it will recognize the results of upcoming elections in two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the voting scheduled for November 2 would be important for the "legitimization of power" in the unrecognized "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk.
While the rest of Ukraine headed to the polls on Sunday, nearly three million voters were unable to cast ballots in the eastern part of the country, where months of fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 3,700 people.
Eastern Ukraine's rebel leaders, who launched a rebellion against the Kyiv government in April, said they would conduct their own poll.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday that the United States will not recognize elections in separatist-controlled areas unless they comply with Ukrainian law and are held with the consent of the Ukrainian government.