Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday making it easier for residents of Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to obtain citizenship.
The measure replaces a 2019 decree that accelerated the granting of Russian citizenship to residents of the eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk provinces, which have been the scene of separatist conflicts since 2014.
Kherson is the first area to be occupied by Russian troops in the invasion that began on February 24, while Zaporizhzhia remains partially under Ukrainian control, but is almost completely encircled.
Residents of these two regions will have a simplified process for obtaining Russian citizenship, including the release of requirements for passing a language test, proving sufficient financial resources and having previously lived in Russia.
Last morning, Zaporizhzhia was the target of Moscow’s airstrikes that resulted in at least one dead and three wounded. According to the Kremlin, the bombing targeted the facilities of Motor Sich, a Ukrainian company that produces engines for military aircraft.
Unlike Donetsk and Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are not part of the so-called “Donbass” whose sovereignty is protected by Russia, but are essential to Moscow’s strategy of establishing a land corridor between the annexed Crimea and the separatist regions of eastern Russia. Ukraine.
source: Noticias
