Kyiv: most of Donbas residents who received Russian passports have been identified
Most of the residents of the Donbas who received the Russia passports have already been identified, Ukrainian Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoly Matios told NV.ua news outlet. According to him, more than 13,000 people have already received the Russian passports.
"We have a complete picture. We have, during the investigation, identified all those who received such citizenship in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - these are big numbers. ...... At the moment, we have information about more than 13,000 people. A significant part of them have been identified as they cross the demarcation line [ in the Donbas]," said Matios.
According to him, the investigators are acting in a legal way, and some people who applied for a Russian passport have already been questioned when they entered Ukraine through the border crossing check point in the Donbas.
On April 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree that residents of areas under Russian militant control in eastern Ukraine, as well as residents of the annexed Crimea, will be able to follow a simplified procedure when applying for a Russian citizenship. Ukraine and its Western allies sharply criticized the decree.
On April 27 in Beijing, Putin declared that the Kremlin was considering whether or not to simplify the procedure for all Ukrainians to apply for Russian passports. On May 1, he signed a decree simplifying the procedure for Ukrainians born and living in Crimea so that they could receive passports in the next three months.
The Verkhovna Rada appealed to a number of international organizations, as well as to countries in the European Union, the USA, and the diplomatic missions of foreign states in Ukraine to strengthen sanctions against Russia in response to Moscow’s decision.
The administration of Ukrainian President-elect Vladimir Zelensky stated on Facebook that the decree on the issue of Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens is “Russia’s admission that it is an occupying power”.