OSCE: People apply for ‘LPR passports’ in Alchevsk to subsequently obtain Russian passports
The OSCE SMM informed this in a report, based on information received as of 19:30, August 9, 2019.
"In Alchevsk (non-government-controlled, 40km west of Luhansk), the SMM observed about 30 people (mixed ages and genders) queuing in front of a building, including a woman (35 years old) who told the Mission that she had been waiting for an hour and that only four or five applications were accepted by the office each day. A man (25 years old) told the SMM that he applied for a “passport” issued by the armed formations in order to subsequently apply for a Russian Federation passport as he had lived and worked in the Russian Federation since 2014," the report says.
The SMM also saw a woman (55 years old), a boy (14 years old) and three men (25-35 years old) coming out of the aforesaid building holding an “LPR passport” in their hands.
The SMM continued monitoring in Kherson, Odesa, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi and Kyiv.
As Ukrinform reported, on July 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin simplified the process of obtaining Russian citizenship for all Ukrainian citizens residing in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and not only in the occupied areas of Donbas.
The Presidential Office of Ukraine condemned this step, saying that it created additional obstacles to de-escalation of the conflict and reintegration of Donbas.
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