Donetsk rebel leader calls for attachment to Russia

DONETSK, Ukraine - Agence France-Presse

Pro-Russian militiants stand by as they maintain a barricade outside the regional state building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on May 12, 2014. AFP photo

The self-proclaimed head of the "People's Republic of Donetsk" in eastern Ukraine on Monday declared the region a sovereign state and asked Russia to consider allowing it to accede.
      
"Proceeding from the expression of the will of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and in order to restore historical justice, we ask the Russian Federation to consider the issue of the Donetsk People's Republic becoming part of the Russian Federation," Denis Pushilin told reporters.