Kiev, Feb 23 (IANS): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expects no conflict with Russia.

"We believe that there will be no large-scale war against Ukraine, and there won't be a wide escalation from the side of the Russian Federation," Zelensky said on Tuesday, adding that Kiev stands ready to impose a martial law if there is aggression against Ukraine.

Earlier on Tuesday, Zelensky said he was weighing a request from the Foreign Ministry to sever diplomatic ties with Russia, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed two decrees recognising "the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR)" and "the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)" as independent and sovereign states.

At a ceremony held in the Kremlin, Putin also inked the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Russia and the LPR and the DPR respectively with the heads of the two "republics," a Kremlin statement said.