Vladimir Putin
But the separatists stopped short of requesting to officially join Russia.
The late Kremlin critic also made a sad prediction for 10 years' time.
It's not just about what is happening on the frontline.
A very bizarre war of words unfolding here.
Laura Farris's comment may have raised eyebrows in Downing Street.
The UK's foreign secretary was not the only one to go in for a face-to-face confrontation with Sergei Lavrov at a G20 meeting on Wednesday.
The body of Vladimir Putin's longtime foe is being hidden, his mother alleged.
The invasion of Ukraine has left Russia pretty isolated on the world stage – not that the Russian president seems ready to acknowledge that.
Navalny fearlessly opposed Putin and the Kremlin before his death last week while in custody at a Russian penal colony.
Details around the prominent Putin critic's death remain unclear.