The Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - have roundly condemned Russia's recognition of Ukraine's breakaway provinces, demanding sanctions against Moscow.
"Russia has torn the Minsk agreements to shreds. That shows that it is Moscow's goal to deepen the conflict, not to resolve it," Estonian President Alar Karis said in Tallinn.
Latvia's entire state leadership issued a statement calling on the international community to "take the strongest possible measures to stop Russia's aggression and offer assistance to Ukraine."
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk an "intolerable violation of international law," in a tweet. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte added on Twitter that "the way we respond will define us for the generations to come."
