Russia's passport fast-track for eastern Ukraine draws EU rebuke
A look back at the reaction to Moscow's simplified citizenship rules for residents of occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
What did Russia's decision to simplify citizenship for people in eastern Ukraine mean for hopes of peace? On 25 April 2019, Russia announced that it would fast-track citizenship applications from people living in conflict areas in eastern Ukraine, and the European Union responded sharply.
The announcement followed a decree signed a day earlier, on 24 April 2019, by Russian President Vladimir Putin. As reported at the time, it set out a simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the occupied districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The European Union called the move an attack on Ukraine's sovereignty. It also said the step would undermine any peace agreement, placing the citizenship measure squarely in the context of the war in Donbass and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
The two reports from 24 and 25 April 2019 together show how quickly the decree moved from signature to international criticism.
