Ukraine president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured April 21, 2019) said the move was "clear confirmation for the world of Russia's real role as an aggressor state" (AFP Photo/Genya SAVILOV) |
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged more international sanctions against Russia after Moscow made it easier for people living in eastern Ukraine's separatist territories to obtain Russian passports.
Kiev is
"counting on increased diplomatic and sanctions pressure on the Russian
Federation," Zelensky's press service said in a statement.
"The
Russian Federation has recognized its responsibility as an occupying
state," it added referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin's
decree which was signed earlier today.
The decree
was aimed at residents of the unrecognised Donetsk and Lugansk republics that
broke away from Kiev in 2014 and are governed by Moscow-backed rebels.
People
living in the separatist regions will now be entitled to receive a Russian
passport within three months of applying for one.
Ukraine's
outgoing President Petro Poroshenko also slammed the decision, calling it
"Russia's unprecedented interference in the internal affairs of an
independent state."
"This
is an attempt to justify and legitimize Russia's military presence in the
occupied part of the Ukrainian Donbass," Poroshenko said in a video
statement, referring to the Kremlin-backed separatist areas.
The
conflict between the Ukrainian government and breakaway rebels began after
Moscow annexed Kiev's Crimea peninsula in 2014. The war has claimed some 13,000
lives.
Kiev and
its Western backers accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the
border to fan the flames of the conflict.
Moscow denies the claims.
#UPDATE President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia was ready to restore full relations with Kiev after a political novice won the Ukraine presidential election, but added that Moscow "cannot do this unilaterally" https://t.co/5XlDXABvO9— AFP news agency (@AFP) 25 april 2019
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