Putin says Ukraine peace agreement 'does not exist' anymore

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Western-brokered peace agreements seeking to end a conflict in eastern Ukraine no longer existed, after he recognised the independence of the ex-Soviet country's separatist regions.

"The Minsk agreements do not exist now, we recognised the DNR and LNR," Putin said, using the abbreviations for the separatist regions in Donetsk and Lugansk. He spoke after Russia's upper house of parliament granted him permission to use the Russian army outside Russia.