Russia starts issuing passports to residents of Donbas
On Friday, June 14, Russia issued passports to the first 60 residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are not under Ukraine’s control, reports TASS News Agency.
Two specialized migration offices were opened in the Rostov region to issue passports. The office where passports are issued for the residents of Donetsk region is located in Neklinovsky District. The other office for the residents of Luhansk region is located in Novoshakhtinsk.
On April 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on a simplified regime of the issuance of Russian citizenship to residents of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic.
On May 1, he issued a new decree simplifying the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainians who lived in the Crimea and Donbas until spring 2014.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Russian passports issued to residents of certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions will not be considered as valid and called Putin's decree "null and void." At the same time, Ukraine intends to find a way to strengthen sanctions against Russia for "passport aggression."