Naturalization in fast track: Putin offers all Ukrainians Russian passports

Russia’s President Putin has offered all Ukrainians the fast-track naturalization process – so far this has only applied to citizens of some regions. Kyiv condemned the decree as “another encroachment on sovereignty”.

Moscow has offered all citizens of Ukraine the fast-track naturalization process. “All citizens of Ukraine have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation through a simplified procedure,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a decree.

At the end of May, Putin decided to fast-track naturalization for the two southern Ukrainian regions of Cherson and Zaporizhia, which are largely occupied by Russia. According to their own statements, the Russian occupation authorities there are already working on a referendum on union with Russia.

Accelerated naturalization has been possible since 2019 for residents of the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, which are occupied by pro-Russian separatists. According to the Russian Interior Ministry in mid-June, Russia has gained more than 800,000 new citizens in Donbass within three years. The information could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian authorities accuse Moscow of forcing people into Russian citizenship and fear an annexation of the occupied territories. The issue of Russian passports is also explosive because Russia’s military doctrine justifies deployments when it comes to the supposed protection of its own nationals.

“Further encroachment on territoriality”

Putin’s most recent decree met with correspondingly great resistance in Ukraine. The decree was “emphatically” condemned, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv. It is “a further encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”. The action also confirms “the continuation of the Kremlin’s course to conquer Ukrainian land, destroy the Ukrainian state and assimilate the Ukrainian nation”.

Against this background, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba once again called for the delivery of more heavy weapons from abroad and tougher sanctions against Russia.