The Russian military has taken over the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and the first Russian passports were granted to inhabitants of the two districts on Saturday. According to the local government, 23 passports were granted in the Kherson area, with Vladimir Saldo, the leader of the military-civilian administration, being the first to obtain one.
‘The first passports for Russian Federation citizens have already been issued in the Zaporozhye area. This is a historic and crucial occasion for us. Another step closer to our return to Russia,’ according to RIA Novosti, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye area, said this.
Saldo also told RIA Novosti that Russia and Ukraine have always been ‘one country,’ and that the current invasion has given the Ukrainian people ‘a new history and life. This is a very momentous time for me. I’ve always thought of us as an one country and people. Fate, it seems, was glad not to let this go to the finish. All of the events that are taking place right now are proof of this’. According to the article, he continued, ‘For us, this is a new history and life.’
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order to make it easier for inhabitants of the two areas to get passports. According to Russian authorities, hundreds of applications for Russian citizenship have been received, and they only need to produce a copy of their Ukrainian passport to apply.
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