Ukraine sees Russia’s issuance of passports in eastern Ukraine as step towards ‘annexation’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Russia’s issuance of its passports to residents of eastern Ukraine is the first step towards the “annexation” of the region.

“This is definitely the first step, because the same thing happened once in Crimea, Crimea residents were given Russian passports. This is a big problem,” Zelenskiy told a news conference.

He added that the tension on the Ukrainian-Russian border could continue until September, when Russia is due to complete military exercises in the region.

Relations between Moscow and Kyiv collapsed after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014 and Russian-backed separatists took control of a swathe of eastern Ukraine later that year.

Tensions have flared again in recent months after the two countries traded blame for a surge in fighting in Donbass, and Russia, in what it called a defensive exercise, massed troops on its border with Ukraine and in Crimea. 

Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO / POOL