UK Slams Putin's Decree Easing Citizenship Process For People From Crisis-Hit Donbas

The United Kingdom criticized on Thursday the recent decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin which simplified the citizenship procedures for residents of eastern Ukrainian Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), the regions of eastern Ukraine engulfed in a five-year-long deadly conflict

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2019) The United Kingdom criticized on Thursday the recent decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin which simplified the citizenship procedures for residents of eastern Ukrainian Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), the regions of eastern Ukraine engulfed in a five-year-long deadly conflict.

"The UK condemns President Putin's decision to sign a decree making it easier for Ukrainian citizens living in non-government controlled areas of eastern Ukraine to receive Russian passports. This step is the latest in a pattern of Russian behaviour aimed at threatening Ukraine's security and sovereignty, and undermining its territorial integrity," the statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said.

Earlier on Thursday, statements with similar rhetoric were issued by Germany, France, the United States, as well as by the European Union.

On Wednesday, the Russian leader signed an executive order which stated that residents from some districts of DPR and LPR were entitled "to a fast-track procedure when applying for Russian citizenship on humanitarian grounds."

Reacting to the decree, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin called upon Donbas to refrain from getting Russian passports in light of Moscow's decision.

Putin, in his turn, dubbed the Kiev's reaction strange since Poland, Hungary and Romania had taken similar steps.

Donbas, an area with predominantly Russian-speaking population, has been engulfed in conflict since 2014. Back then, the Ukrainian authorities unleashed a military operation against the self-proclaimed republics in the region that refused to recognize the new government in Kiev, which came to power after what they considered to be a coup.

In 2015, the warring parties signed the Minsk peace accords to end the hostilities in the region, but the situation has remained tense, with both parties accusing each other of ceasefire violations.

In February this year, UN figures showed that over 3,000 civilians have been killed and more than 9,000 injured since the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. According to Mueller, over 100 civilians have been killed or injured due to "extensive mine and unexploded ordnance contamination" in 2018. She concluded that about 3.5 million people still need humanitarian help in the region.