Moscow offers Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians | War in Ukraine
Russian shelling on Kharkiv left 6 dead and 31 injured, according to local authorities. The death toll from Sunday's shelling in Chassiv Yar climbs to 31.
Russian passports made in a Moscow factory (archives)
Russia now offers Russian citizenship to all Ukrainian citizens who wish to obtain it, under a decree signed Monday by President Vladimir Putin.
Citizens of & #x27;Ukraine […] have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation under the simplified procedure, reads this document published on Monday.
Moscow is thus considerably expanding a measure that has so far only applied to Ukrainians in territories conquered since the start of the conflict on February 24.
This concerned residents of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine, whose independence Moscow recognized just before the start of the conflict, and those of the Kherson regions and Zaporizhia.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was quick to strongly condemn the decree signed by the ruler of the Kremlin.
“The mentioned decision constitutes a new encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, incompatible with the norms and principles of international law. »
— statement from the Ukrainian diplomacy
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This is not the first time that Russia has done this to citizens of independent countries, but which were once part of the Soviet sphere of influence.< /p>
It has long offered Russian citizenship to citizens of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia, and Transnistria, Moldova.
The Ukrainian army on Monday reported heavy shelling throughout eastern Ukraine, but acknowledged that Russian troops were not attempting to make advances on the ground. This pause has been in effect since the fall of Lyssychansk, the last city that escaped the Russian army in Luhansk province.
The enemy in our operational zone remains behind defense lines, does not advance by land, does not have the possibilities and capabilities to create new strike groups, the Southern Operational Command said.
In Kharkiv, in the northeast, civilian buildings – a shopping center and housing – came under enemy fire. Several missiles hit houses. Garages and cars were also destroyed, said regional governor Oleg Synegoubov.
“Around 10 a.m. ), the aggressor country fired artillery from multiple rocket launcher systems at residential areas. 31 people were injured, including two children aged 4 and 16. Six civilians, including a 17-year-old boy and his father, were killed. »
— Statement from the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office
The Russian Ministry of Defense for its part argued that Russian forces had struck areas where Ukrainian troops and foreign fighters were deployed in the region from Kharkov. She also said she targeted in Dnipro, central Ukraine, ammunition depots used to fuel rocket launchers and cannons supplied by Western countries.
The Ukrainian army general staff has also warned that Russian forces are preparing to intensify combat operations in the direction of Kramatorsk and Bakhmout, two key cities in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine.
In Chassiv Yar, northeast of Kramatorsk, the death toll from Sunday's shelling of an apartment building has risen to 31, according to the local branch of Ukraine's Situations Service of Ukraine. 'emergency. Nine people were also rescued.
With information from Agence France-Presse, and Reuters
