Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the world to react to Putin’s “passport fantasies”

KATERYNA TISHCHENKO — MONDAY, 11 JULY 2022, 8:02

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, called on Ukraine’s partners to respond to the simplified procedure for granting Russian citizenship to Ukrainians by enacting new sanctions against the Russian Federation and by providing military aid to Ukraine.

Source: Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on the simplified procedure for granting Russian citizenship to citizens of Ukraine

Quote from Kuleba: "Ukrainian citizens do not need Putin’s citizenship, and attempts to impose it by force are doomed to failure. This decree is worthless and only serves to show Putin’s predatory appetites. I am convinced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the proper support of their partners, will put an end to this.

Therefore, it is now critically important to increase assistance to our state. I call on our partners to react strongly to Putin’s new passport fantasies: urgently provide Ukraine with more heavy weapons and introduce new economic sanctions against Russia."

Details: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the passporting of Ukrainian citizens is legally void and will have no legal consequences for Ukraine.

"Instead, Russia uses a simplified procedure for issuing passports to tighten the noose around the necks of the residents of the temporarily occupied territories of our state, forcing them to participate in the criminal activities of the occupation’s administration and of the invading Russian army," the statement reads.

Background: On 11 July, the president of the aggressor country, Vladimir Putin, signed a decree enacting a fast-track Russian citizenship procedure for all Ukrainians.