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Putin signs decree making it easier for eastern Ukraine residents to obtain Russian passports Putin signs decree making it easier for eastern Ukraine residents to obtain Russian passports
(about 1 hour later)
President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that will make it easier for residents in eastern Ukraine to get a Russian passport. He said the move is aimed at protecting the human rights of those living in the breakaway republics. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that will simplify getting a Russian passport for eastern Ukraine residents. Putin said that the move is aimed at protecting human rights of the breakaway republics’ residents.
The document – signed Wednesday – establishes a simplified procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship for any person with a permanent residence in parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions. The areas, which broke away from Kiev and declared themselves independent after the 2014 Maidan armed coup, are predominantly populated by ethnic Russians. The new rules, that took effect immediately on Wednesday, apply to the permanent residents of the breakaway parts of Ukraine – Lugansk and Donetsk regions – the area which has an estimated 3.7 million residents who are predominantly ethnic Russians. The decree allows for the residents of the two republics to get a Russian passport under a simplified three-month procedure.
The simplified procedure lifts some of standard restrictions such as the requirement for applicants to have lived in Russia under a residency permit for at least five years and to have passed a formal language exam. The decree also demands that Russian officials process such citizenship requests within three months. The decree has been published on the Kremlin website three days after Ukraine elected a new president.
Rumors that the simplified procedure may soon apply to Ukrainians affected by the conflict have been floating around for months. Proponents of the measure argue that Russia should help alleviate the hardships which people in the two self-proclaimed republics faced since turning against Ukrainian authorities. The argument apparently was accepted by the Kremlin. It’s not aimed at “creating problems” for Ukraine, Putin explained. “People living on the territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics are completely deprived from any civil rights, it crosses all boundaries from a human rights perspective to tolerate this situation,” he said.
Vladimir Putin said that Moscow “doesn’t wish to create problems” for Ukraine, but will not tolerate instances when the residents of the breakaway regions “live deprived of all civil rights.” The regions have been a battlefield for five years, after eastern Ukraine residents rejected the new authorities which came to power during the 2014 Maidan coup, spearheaded by Ukrainian nationalists. Back then the crisis promptly escalated into a full-blown war, as new Kiev authorities tried to quell the rogue regions by force, using military and police units, as well as affiliated far-right volunteer militias. While the fighting was not very active for the past few years, the smoldering conflict regularly takes its toll on the both warring parties, as well as local civilians.
“From a human rights perspective, that [situation] crosses all boundaries,” he stressed. Ukrainian authorities have imposed a strict blockade on the breakaway regions, trying to prevent any cash and goods flow into the self-proclaimed republics. Apart from continuous artillery shelling of residential areas, Kiev also repeatedly disrupted water and electricity supply. Their residents therefore are forced to frequently go to Russia, in order to get the most basic household items or healthcare. Moscow, on its part, tried to ease the hardships of the Lugansk and Donetsk residents, repeatedly sending humanitarian convoys packed with foodstuffs and other basic items and recognized the identity documents issued by the republics in 2017.
After taking power through an armed coup in 2014, the new authorities in Kiev launched a military crackdown on the anti-government forces in the east. The conflict has been smoldering ever since. The simplified process of getting Russian citizenship for the residents of the breakaway regions has been rumored for some time. Proponents of the measure argue that Russia should help alleviate the hardships which people in the two self-proclaimed republics faced since turning against Ukrainian authorities.
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