Kiev calls for new sanctions against Russia as Kremlin recognizes passports of residents of breakaway East Ukrainian republics

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a diplomatic complaint with Moscow over President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the documents of residents if the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

In a statement on Friday, Kiev’s top diplomats called on its Western supporters  to “condemn the actions of the Russian Federation and take the necessary measures to apply pressure, including sanctions.”

The new rule change means that residents of the two de facto autonomous regions, which Ukraine claims as part of its own territory, will have documents, such as passports and vehicle registrations, accepted in Russia. The validity of those documents won’t be dependent on the citizenship status of their owner.

In 2019, Putin signed into law new processes to simplify citizenship for people living in the two republics, and it has been reported that more than one million Russian passports will be issued as part of the initiative by the end of 2020.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered citizenship to “all people who suffer from authoritarian and corrupt regimes and to the Russian people who suffer most of all.” It is unclear how many people across the world have taken him up on the offer and moved to Ukraine.

Moscow has already faced a package of sanctions over relations with Kiev, which have frayed further due to Russia’s support for the republics. In June, the European Union announced that it would renew measures targeting the Russian economy, including the financial, energy and defense sectors.

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