Kyiv Accused Russia of Accelerated Passport Issuing for Donbass Residents for Hostile Action

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine noted that Russia accelerated with the issuance of Russian passports to residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics. According to Kyiv, Moscow deliberately does this not to lose its influence in the region, Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports. The report stated that the command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation takes measures to accelerate the so-called “passportization” of the population in the temporarily occupied territory by changing the order of Donbas military service army corps. In particular, from October 1, only military personnel with Russian passports and persons who began to register Russian citizenship according to established procedure will serve in the units of the Russian occupation forces, the statement reads. The Main Intelligence Directorate states that by increasing the number of Russian citizens in the temporarily occupied territory at the expense of local residents, Russia is trying to strengthen its position in international negotiations to resolve the situation in Donbas. Besides, it is noted that in this way the Russian Federation plans to prevent the loss of its influence in the region if it is forced to agree to certain concessions on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements and retains the potential for further aggression against Ukraine. News.ru