On February 8, 2017, at 6:12 a.m., Mikhail Tolstykh (call sign "Givi") was killed in his office at the base of the “Somali” battalion in Makeyevka, DPR. According to various reports, he either died in a rocket launcher attack with a “Shmel” flamethrower or due to a bomb planted in the building DPR authorities classified the incident as a terrorist act organized by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)
On February 18, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing documents issued to residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics by local authorities. Russia legalized passports, birth certificates, marriage and divorce documents, name change papers, educational diplomas, and vehicle registration papers issued in accordance with the laws of the Donbass republics. People who had moved to Russia were now able to carry out legal actions based on such documents.
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