Russian-backed separatist leader Denis Pushilin said on Tuesday that Moscow formally recognised the breakaway region of Donetsk within the wider boundaries of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, much of which is controlled by Ukrainian forces.
Speaking on Russian state television, Pushilin said the matter of the territory not controlled by separatists would be resolved later.
"The border issue is not simple, it will be resolved later," he said.
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Anton Zverev; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Alex Richardson)
