The first Russian passports issued to residents of southern Ukraine.
Published on 12.6.2022 by Epoch Times with AFP
Russia handed over its first passports residents of Kherson, a city occupied by Moscow troops in southern Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.
According to the official TASS agency, 23 residents of Kherson received during a ceremony a Russian passport, a “simplified procedure” permitted thanks to a decree signed at the end of May by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“All our residents of Kherson want to get a passport and (Russian) citizenship as soon as possible”assured during this ceremony Vladimir Saldo, the head of the pro-Russian administration of the region, quoted by TASS.
To coincide with the Russia Day holiday, June 12
“It is a new era that is opening up for us (…) It is the most important document a person has in their life”he then specified to the Ria Novosti agency.
According to pro-Russian authorities in Kherson, the date of the issuance of these first Russian passports was chosen to coincide with the Russia Day holiday, June 12, a holiday celebrating the country’s independence.
“Gross violation” of its territorial integrity
The Kherson region was almost entirely conquered by the Russian army at the start of its offensive launched on February 24. The decree signed by the Kremlin at the end of May, authorizing local pro-Russian authorities to issue passports to residents, also concerned the Zaporizhia region partly controlled by Moscow.
Ukraine denounced the establishment of this special procedure, castigating a “flagrant violation” of its territorial integrity.
“The Russian presidential decree is legally void and will have no consequences” on “the citizenship of the inhabitants of the territories temporarily occupied by Russia”, said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
