U.S. State Department: Putin’s decree is provocation and assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty

The U.S. Department of State said this in its statement released on April 24.

“The United States condemns today’s decision by President Putin to provide expedited Russian citizenship to Ukrainians living in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine. Russia, through this highly provocative action, is intensifying its assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” reads the statement.

The U.S. Department of State has added that “Putin’s decision creates a serious obstacle to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the reintegration of the Donbas region”.

The U.S. Department of State also noted that this happened just three days after the Ukrainian people “overwhelmingly” elected Volodymyr Zelensky the next president of Ukraine, and reminded that Volodymyr Zelensky had repeatedly expressed his readiness “to engage seriously with Russia to implement the Minsk agreements, and to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed some 13,000 lives”.

“It is now up to Russia to decide whether it wants to continue to escalate tensions or meet its Minsk commitments,” reads the statement.

As Ukrinform reported, on April 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that allows residents of the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine to obtain Russian passports under a simplified procedure.

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