Moscow is set to rename a square close to the capital’s German embassy in honor of one of Ukraine’s breakaway republics.
If authorities approve the plans, the embassy’s address will change to “Luhansk People’s Republic Square.”
The separatist region is backed by Russian forces, with President Vladimir Putin recognizing the area as an independent country just before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move is the latest in a wave of new, patriotic street names following the start of the conflict on Feb. 24.
Earlier in June, Muscovites voted to rename the square outside the city’s U.S. embassy “Donetsk People’s Republic Square.”
The poll, which took place on the government’s “Active Citizen” app, gave voters three options: “Defenders of Donbas Square,” “Donetsk People’s Republic Square” and “Hero of Russia Vladimir Artyomovich Zhoga Square,” in honor of a separatist battalion commander who was killed in combat on March 5.
Some 120,000 people from Moscow’s population of 20 million voted in the poll, with independent media outlet Mediazona reporting that some employees were pressured by their workplaces to take part.
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