KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday expanding a fast track to Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians.
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Until recently, only residents of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as residents of the southern Zaporizhzhia and the Kherson regions, large parts of which are under Russian control, were eligible for the simplified procedure.
Between 2019, when the procedure was first introduced for the residents of Donetsk and Luhansk, and this year more than 720,000 residents of the rebel-held areas in the two regions – about 18% of the population – have received Russian passports.
In late May this year, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the fast-track procedure was also offered to residents of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. A month ago the first Russian passports were reportedly handed out there.