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| Russia eases passport process for Ukrainians in breakaway regions | Russia eases passport process for Ukrainians in breakaway regions |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Vladimir Putin has signed a law that will allow Ukrainians living in the breakaway regions of south-east Ukraine to receive Russian passports more easily. | Vladimir Putin has signed a law that will allow Ukrainians living in the breakaway regions of south-east Ukraine to receive Russian passports more easily. |
| The provocative decision caused anger in Kyiv, where the offer of Russian passports will be taken as an attempt to further integrate the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions into Russia. | The provocative decision caused anger in Kyiv, where the offer of Russian passports will be taken as an attempt to further integrate the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions into Russia. |
| More than 13,000 people have died in eastern Ukraine since fighting broke out between the government and Russian-backed separatists in 2014. | More than 13,000 people have died in eastern Ukraine since fighting broke out between the government and Russian-backed separatists in 2014. |
| Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian foreign minister, tweeted: “I call on Ukrainian citizens in Russian-occupied territories not to accept Russian passports. Russia has deprived you of the present, but now it encroaches on your future.” | Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian foreign minister, tweeted: “I call on Ukrainian citizens in Russian-occupied territories not to accept Russian passports. Russia has deprived you of the present, but now it encroaches on your future.” |
| The decree comes days after Ukrainians overwhelmingly voted for the comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy as their next president in a rejection of the political elite. | The decree comes days after Ukrainians overwhelmingly voted for the comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy as their next president in a rejection of the political elite. |
| Zelenskiy signalled he was more amenable to compromise on the separatist regions than the outgoing president, Petro Poroshenko, and campaigned in part on Ukrainians’ exhaustion with the war. But Russia’s challenge will probably force him to take a harder line. | |
| The text of the law, which appeared on the Kremlin’s website on Wednesday, granted Ukrainians living in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions “the right to request citizenship of the Russian Federation” as a humanitarian measure. Requests for citizenship should be considered within three months, the bill said. | The text of the law, which appeared on the Kremlin’s website on Wednesday, granted Ukrainians living in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions “the right to request citizenship of the Russian Federation” as a humanitarian measure. Requests for citizenship should be considered within three months, the bill said. |
| Ukrainian separatist leaders estimate 3.6 million people still live in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk no longer under Kyiv’s control, although the real number is likely to be smaller. | Ukrainian separatist leaders estimate 3.6 million people still live in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk no longer under Kyiv’s control, although the real number is likely to be smaller. |
| Vladislav Surkov, a Kremlin adviser on Ukraine, hailed the decision. “This is an extremely important event for citizens of the Donetsk and Luhansk peoples’ republics,” he said, referring to the unrecognised governments. | |
| “Ukraine refuses to accept these citizens as their own, installing an economic blockade, not allowing them to vote, using military force against them. Having received a passport, these people will feel more secure and free.” | “Ukraine refuses to accept these citizens as their own, installing an economic blockade, not allowing them to vote, using military force against them. Having received a passport, these people will feel more secure and free.” |
| Alexei Chesnakov, an adviser to Surkov, said the Kremlin had waited for the result of the presidential election on Sunday before issuing the decree. | |
| “The Kremlin didn’t do this earlier in order not to give additional pretexts for Poroshenko and the country’s radicals to use it during the campaign,” he said. | “The Kremlin didn’t do this earlier in order not to give additional pretexts for Poroshenko and the country’s radicals to use it during the campaign,” he said. |
| Poroshenko campaigned on a patriotic line emphasising his support for the army and the country’s defence against Russia. | Poroshenko campaigned on a patriotic line emphasising his support for the army and the country’s defence against Russia. |
| Moscow’s decision to hand out passports mirrors policies in the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia justified its military intervention in a 2008 war with Georgia in part because of the large number of Russian passport holders in the region. | Moscow’s decision to hand out passports mirrors policies in the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia justified its military intervention in a 2008 war with Georgia in part because of the large number of Russian passport holders in the region. |
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