Until recently, only residents of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as residents of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, large parts of which are now under Russian control, were eligible for the simplified passport process. Ukrainian officials have yet to react to Putin’s announcement. Monday’s decree also applies to all stateless persons currently residing in Ukraine. Since 2019, when the process was first introduced for residents of Donetsk and Luhansk, and this year, more than 720,000 people living in rebel-held areas in the two regions – about 18% of the population – have received Russian passports. In late May, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the fast-track process was also offered to residents of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and a month ago, the first Russian passports were reportedly issued there. Putin’s move came as Russian shelling of Ukraine’s second-largest city killed at least six people and wounded 31 others, prosecutors and local officials said. Hours earlier, Russian troops launched three rocket attacks on Kharkiv, which one official described as “absolute terrorism.” Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov told Telegram that the shelling came from multiple rocket launchers and that those treated for injuries in the attacks include children aged 4 and 16. “Only urban structures – a shopping center and houses of peaceful residents of Kharkiv – fell under the fire of the Russians. Several shells hit the yards of private houses. Garages and cars were also destroyed, many fires broke out,” Syniehubov wrote. Earlier, he said one of the rockets fired by Russian forces at Kharkiv overnight destroyed a school, another hit a residential building, while the third landed near a warehouse facility. “All three (three were launched) exclusively at civilian objects, this is absolute terrorism!” Syniehubov said. Kharkiv resident Alexander Peresolin said the attacks came without warning, knocking him unconscious. “I was sitting and talking to my wife,” he said. “I didn’t understand what happened.” Peresolin said neighbors took him to the basement, where he later regained consciousness. The strikes came just two days after a Russian rocket attack hit apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 24 people in the town of Chasiv Yar. A total of nine people have been rescued from the rubble, but more are believed to be trapped, emergency officials said. The attack late Saturday destroyed three buildings in a residential district used mainly by people working in nearby factories. Russian attacks also continued in eastern Ukraine, with Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai saying on Monday that shelling had hit settlements on the border with Donetsk region. Russian forces carried out five missile attacks and four shellings in the area, he said. Luhansk and Donetsk regions together make up Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as Donbas, where separatist rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Earlier this month, Russia captured the last major stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Luhansk, the city Lysychansk. The British military said on Monday that Russian troops were weakening. The Ministry of Defense tweeted that online videos indicated at least one Russian tank brigade was “mentally and physically exhausted” as it had been in active combat since Russia invaded on February 24. Also on Monday, Russia’s main natural gas pipeline to Germany began a 10-day maintenance shutdown, heightening European fears that Moscow may not restore the flow after its completion. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and is the latter’s main source of Russian natural gas. Natural gas is usually sent to other countries as well. He is scheduled to be out of action until July 21st. German officials are suspicious of Russia’s intentions, particularly after Russian energy giant Gazprom last month cut the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1 by 60 percent.
Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.
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title: “Putin Extends Fast Track Russian Citizenship To All Of Ukraine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-22” author: “Yvonne Rm”
Until recently, only residents of Ukraine’s separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as residents of southern Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, large parts of which are now under Russian control, could apply for the simplified passport process. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kluyba said Putin’s signing of the passport decree, which also applies to stateless residents in Ukraine, was an example of his “predatory appetites.” “Russia uses the simplified procedure for issuing passports to tighten the noose around the necks of residents of the temporarily occupied territories of our state, forcing them to participate in the criminal activities of the occupation administrations and the Russian aggression army,” the ministry added in his announcement. Since 2019, when the process was introduced for residents of Donetsk and Luhansk, and this year, more than 720,000 people living in rebel-held areas in the two regions – about 18% of the population – have received Russian passports. At the end of May, three months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the expedited procedure was also offered to residents of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The Russian passport move appears to be part of Putin’s political influence strategy, which also included the introduction of the Russian ruble in occupied territories in Ukraine and could eventually lead to the annexation of more Ukrainian territories into the Russian Federation. Russia already annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014. The Russian president set the stage for such moves even before Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, writing an essay last summer arguing that Russians and Ukrainians are one people and seeking to diminish Ukraine’s legitimacy as an independent nation. . Reports have emerged of Russian authorities confiscating Ukrainian passports from some citizens. The passport announcement came hours after Russian bombing of Ukraine’s second-largest city on Monday killed at least six people and wounded 31, prosecutors and local officials said. Russian troops launched three rocket attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in an attack one official described as “total terrorism”. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the attacks hit the deployment points of Ukraine’s “nationalist brigades.” Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov told Telegram that the shelling came from multiple rocket launchers, and the injured and hospitalized included children between the ages of 4 and 16. “Only urban structures – a shopping center and houses of peaceful residents of Kharkiv – fell under the fire of the Russians. Several shells hit the yards of private houses. Garages and cars were also destroyed. Many fires broke out,” Syniehubov wrote. Earlier, he said one rocket destroyed a school, another hit a residential building, while the third landed near a warehouse facility. “All (the three were launched) exclusively at civilian objects. This is absolute terrorism!” Syniehubov said. Kharkiv resident Alexander Peresolin said the attacks came without warning, with an explosion so powerful he knocked himself unconscious. The neighbors took him to the basement, where he regained consciousness. “I was sitting and talking to my wife,” he said. “I didn’t understand what happened.” The strikes came two days after Russian rockets hit apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine. The death toll in that attack in the town of Chasiv Yar rose to 31 on Monday. Nine people have been rescued from the rubble, but others are believed to remain trapped, emergency officials said. The attack late Saturday destroyed three buildings in a residential district used mainly by people working in factories. Russia’s defense ministry insisted on Monday that Chasiv Yar’s target was a Ukrainian territorial defense brigade and that “more than 300 nationalists” were killed. The city is also the home of the president of Ukraine. Russian attacks continued in eastern Ukraine, with Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai saying on Monday that Russian forces had carried out five missile attacks and four shellings, hitting settlements on the border with Donetsk region. Luhansk and Donetsk regions make up Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as Donbas, where separatist rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Earlier this month, Russia captured the last major stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Luhansk, the town of Lysychansk . Also Monday: — Russia’s main natural gas pipeline to Germany has begun a 10-day maintenance shutdown, fueling European fears that Moscow may not restore the flow after its completion. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and is the latter’s main source of Russian natural gas. Natural gas is usually sent to other countries as well. He is scheduled to be out of action until July 21st. German officials are suspicious of Russia’s intentions, particularly after Russian energy giant Gazprom last month cut the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1 by 60 percent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video clip on Monday: “There is no doubt that Russia will try not just to cut as much as possible, but to completely cut off gas supplies to Europe at the most acute moment. This is what we have to prepare now, this is caused now.” — Western nations pledged more support and military supplies to Ukraine. In Kyiv, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his country would supply shells and self-propelled howitzers. Rutte also promised financial support for Ukrainian teachers, doctors and pensioners. Zelensky said he spoke with Rutte about the Netherlands’ possible role in rebuilding Ukraine.
Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.
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