https://greatgameindia.com/putin-full-citizenship-ukrainians/
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has signed a hugely controversial decree mandating that “all citizens of Ukraine” be given “the right to apply for admission to the citizenship of the Russian Federation in a simplified manner” after a month ago Russia started issuing passports to Ukrainian citizens of the pro-Russian separatist republics in the Donbas region.
This has led to speculation that one of Putin’s military objectives is the complete annexation of all area captured by Russian forces, particularly in the south and east.
The Moscow Times reports that “Nearly 40% of the 137,700 citizens of former Soviet countries who obtained Russian citizenship in January-April 2022 were from Ukraine, according to Interior Ministry data,” indicating that the new citizenship program for Ukrainians appears to be in full swing.
The new decree has unsurprisingly angered the Ukrainian government, which issued the following statement in response: “The illegal issuing of passports… is a flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as norms and principles of international humanitarian law.”