Putin Expands Fast-Track Russian Citizenship To All Ukrainians

Topline

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree allowing all Ukrainians to apply for fast-track Russian citizenship, expanding previous efforts to allow those in some southern and eastern Ukrainian regions to apply through a simplified process, as Russia continues its efforts to expand its control in Ukraine.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The move comes two months after Putin allowed residents of the southern Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to apply for fast-tracked Russian citizenship, regions largely controlled by Russia since it began its invasion of Ukraine in February.

In 2019, the Kremlin allowed residents of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk to apply for citizenship in a simplified manner.

The new decree also comes after Russia in June handed out passports to residents of two Ukrainian cities occupied by Russian forces.

Big Number

720,000. That’s how many Ukrainians living in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions received Russian passports from 2019 to 2022, according to the Associated Press.

Key Background

Since the 1990s, Russia has used “passportization” policies—distribution of Russian passports to ethnic Russians and other minorities outside of the country, particularly those in countries on the border of Russia—to exert control in foreign states. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last year Russia’s move to fast-track citizenship in the Donbas region was indicative of larger plans to annex the region. Russia claimed full control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region last week, after taking over the final Ukrainian-controlled city. The citizenship decree comes days after a Russian missile strike on a five-story residential block in Ukraine’s Donetsk province killed 24 people, as Russian forces try to take control of the Donbas region.

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