EU: Russia may use its passports in CADLR as occasion to start war

"We are deeply concerned about the fact that Russia continues and has recently even accelerated its policy of mass issuance of passports to Ukrainian citizens in non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine. This policy contradicts the spirit and the objectives of the Minsk Agreements and is a clear violation of Ukraine's sovereignty," reads the statement made by the European Union during the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna.

The EU stated that the Kremlin's policy is of particular concern given the statements attributed to high-level Russian officials evoking possible Russian military action as an alleged need to protect the interests of these newly passportized citizens.

"The European Union and its member states recall that they do not recognize these passports and call on other OSCE participating States to do so," the statement says.

During the Council meeting, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk drew attention to the continuation of Russia's issuance of passports in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. He pointed out that, according to statements by a Russian parliament member, about 1 million illegal Russian passports could be issued in CADLR by the end of 2021.

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