Thanks for the heads up on this. If you ask me this is long overdue.
The Ukrainian government's war crimes against people who are nominally its citizens gives both Donetsk and Lugansk regions the right to start formal links with Russia. Russia is already under sanctions from the U.S. and EU so why not take the next logical step and formally annex both regions. I know the U.S. would scream blue murder and threaten Russia with even greater sanctions.
Lets face it over the long term this is where things are headed anyway so why not save alot of time, energy and lives and annex Donetsk and Lugansk into Russia