Kyiv: Ukraine will not recognize Russian passports issued to residents of DPR and LPR
Kyiv considers invalid the Russian passports which, according to Putin’s decree, can be issued to residents of a number of south-eastern regions in Ukraine through a simplified procedure.
According to Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, passports will not be considered valid for crossing the state border and when used on the territory of Ukraine. The prime minister also promised to contact partner countries so that “fake” documents such as these would be declared invalid for use on their territories.
“Why fake? Because we understand that it is absolutely illegal to this, it is a violation of all international norms. We will never recognize any citizenship issued by the aggressor,” the Ukrainian prime minister said.
In addition, the Ukrainian Minister of Veterans Affairs, Iryna Friz, added that residents of the so-called DPR and LPR who received Russian passports could be deprived of social benefits and pensions.
Earlier, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin said that the country had prepared a “simultaneously systemic and asymmetrical” response to Russian “passport thuggery” in the Donbas. He noted that Moscow could use similar methods to try and destabilize the situation in other European countries.
Moscow responded that “the Kremlin will continue to issue passports to those citizens who fall under the Russian presidential decree.”