EU ambassadors on July 24 started considering the issue of Russia naturalizing residents of Ukraine's Donbas.
RFE/RL's reporter in Brussels Rikard Jozwiak tweeted on Wednesday, July 24, that "today EU ambassadors are discussing Moscow's move to give Russian passports to people in eastern Ukraine."
In the same Tweet, the journalist wrote that "the work to ban those passport holders to enter the EU will take time, with Crimea it was around 18 months but it will happen."
As UNIAN reported earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 24, 2019, signed a decree on simplified procedures for granting Russian citizenship to residents of Russia-occupied districts of Ukraine's east.
On April 29 and 30, two centers for issuing Russian passports to residents of the occupied districts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions opened in Russia's Rostov Oblast.
Read alsoTrap for Ukrainian authorities. Why Putin simplifies naturalization of Donbas residents
On May 1, Putin signed another decree under which more categories of Ukrainian citizens are able to obtain Russian citizenship with the use of the simplified procedure, in particular, these are citizens of Ukraine who do not have citizenship of another state, as well as stateless persons who were born and permanently resided in Crimea and left the peninsula before March 18, 2014, as well as their children, husbands (wives), and parents.
On May 8, Ukraine's government decided to outlaw Russian passports issued to residents of occupied Ukrainian territories, primarily Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
On June 20, Putin said that obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainians would be simplified, but it would require a visit to Russia. Leaders of European Union member states declare their readiness not to recognize Russian passports issued to Ukrainians in Russia-occupied Donbas.
On July 17, Putin extended his decree on simplified procedures for granting Russian citizenship to all residents from Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
