On June 9, Russian parliamentarian Viktor Vodolatskiy declared that this year, 600,000 to 800,000 inhabitants of the unrecognized “republics” on the occupied territory of Ukrainian Donbas will receive Russian citizenship (TASS, June 9). Mr. Vodolatskiy is the first deputy chairperson of the State Duma Committee on CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Activities, Euro-Asian Integration and Relations with Nationals.
President Vladimir Putin had notably signed a decree on April 24, 2019, that simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian passports for residents of certain areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions. And one week later, on May 1, he added to this category residents of Ukraine born or residing in Crimea before March 18, 2014, as well as their children (Kremlin.ru, May 1, 2019). According to Mr. Volodatskiy, more than 180,000 Ukrainians have already received Russian citizenship, and nearly 100,000 additional applications are presently being processed (TASS, June 9).