Putin announces decree to fast-track Russian citizenship for Ukrainians

July 11 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a decree on Monday that a fast-tracked citizenship process will be now open to all Ukraine citizens and not just those in the eastern Donbas region or occupied southern locations.

The decree is another measure Russia is using to justify its invasion of Ukraine and solidify its gain during the war that has progressed since February.

"Declare that citizens of Ukraine, Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) or Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and people without citizenship permanently living in DPR, LPR or Ukraine are entitled to appeal for admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation via the simplified procedure in accordance with the ... law on citizenship of the Russian Federation," the decree said, according to state-run TASS news agency.

Russia started offering a "simplified" citizenship process in 2019 to residents of the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. The Kremlin expanded the process in May to include Ukrainians living in the Russia-occupied Kherson region and parts of the Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukraine said Russia's actions violate international law.

"The illegal issuing of passports is a flagrant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as norms and principles of international humanitarian law," the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in May, according to the Moscow Times.

Some experts said the citizenship ploy was an attempt to exert claims of permanent control of the captured regions of Ukraine. That has been followed by Moscow appointing pro-Kremlin officials to senior government roles in the Ukrainian territories they now occupy.