United States Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker has said Russia's recent decision to issue passports in Ukraine's Donbas is straight from its "occupation playbook."
Read alsoU.S. condemns Putin's decree on Russian passports in Donbas
"Donbas is Ukraine and the people there – regardless of preferred language – are Ukrainian. Russia's recent decision to issue passports is highly provocative & is straight from its 'occupation playbook' and undermines efforts to implement Minsk & restore Donbas to Ukrainian control," he wrote on Twitter on April 24, 2019.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 24 signed a decree simplifying the procedure to grant Russian citizenship to people living in Russian-occupied Donbas, eastern Ukraine.
