Klimkin calls decision to issue Russian passports in Donbas a continuation of aggression

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin wrote this on his Twitter account.

"Russia's decision to issue Russian passports in the occupied Ukrainian territories is a continuation of aggression and interference in our internal affairs. This is a new 'passport' stage of the occupation of Donbas," Klimkin wrote.

He called on Ukrainian citizens living in Russian-occupied territories not to accept Russian passports.

"Russia has deprived you of the present, and now it encroaches on your future," the minister said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 24 signed a decree under which residents of the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions temporarily occupied by Russia have the right to apply for Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure.

op