Ukraine Parliament,Verkhovna Rada, approves state of emergency

Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada, approved declaring a state of emergency in the whole country except for Donetsk and Luhansk regions on Wednesday amid the escalating situation at the country's borders.

Earlier in the day, NSDC (National Security and Defense Council) Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said that they have decided to declare a state of emergency across the country, except for the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

"The issue of declaring a state of emergency was discussed ... The decision was made. According to our legislation, the Verkhovna Rada must approve this decision within 48 minutes ... A state of emergency will be introduced throughout Ukraine, except for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," Danilov told reporters.

Measures will be tightened or softened depending on the situation in different parts of the country, he said, noting that the emergency is planned to be declared for 30 days and can be extended up to 60 days.

After declaring the emergency state, the authorities do not plan to confiscate registered weapons from the population, the NSDC chief had added.

( With inputs from ANI )