Russian Nationals To Be Banned From Ukraine's Dual Citizenship System - Deputy Minister

Russian citizens will be unable to obtain a Ukrainian passport under a new dual citizenship mechanism that is being prepared by Kiev, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bondar said in an interview on Friday

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) Russian citizens will be unable to obtain a Ukrainian passport under a new dual citizenship mechanism that is being prepared by Kiev, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bondar said in an interview on Friday.

Ukraine currently does not recognize dual citizenship, but in July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the foreign ministry to create a mechanism that would grant ethnic Ukrainians living in "friendly" countries dual citizenship. In late October, Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that Kiev was working on the relevant legislation.

"[Russian citizenship] can not be subject to the regulation of this law," Bondar told Ukraine's Segodnya online portal.

Bondar added that the bill could be drafted before the end of the year.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order facilitating the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainians residing in Russia and living the conflict-stricken Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Zelenskyy's office said that it had received Putin's decision "with sadness and resentment."