The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Russian passports obtained by residents of the DPR and LPR are a reaction of the inhabitants of Donbass to the discriminatory policy of Kiev towards them.

“They (Russian passports. - RT ) not only enabled their holders to freely cross the border with Russia during the period of restrictions caused by the pandemic, but became historical evidence of the response of the residents of Donbass to the long-term atrocities of the Kiev regime,” Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page.

Thus, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the words of Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba that Kiev is working with its partners to exert pressure on Moscow due to the issuance of Russian passports to residents of Donbass.

“From the point of view of law, these are absolutely worthless pieces of paper, and the practice of issuing them should be stopped. Therefore, we work with the international community, with our partners, so that they do not recognize these passports and that we put pressure on Russia to stop this practice, ”the Ukrainian minister said in an interview with Ukrinform, published on June 15.

Kuleba added that, by granting citizenship to the population of the LPR and the DPR, the Russian Federation allegedly “flagrantly violates international law”.

“Therefore, they (passports. - RT ) do not matter to us,” the Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized.

Zakharova also responded to Kuleba’s words that Russian passports are “filkin letter”. 

“I love the intellectual power of the modern Ukrainian elite. About the Filinka Charter. So Ivan the Terrible called the accusatory letters of Metropolitan Philip II about the atrocities of the guardsmen. The metropolitan who was killed by Malyuta Skuratov is now revered as St. Philip of Moscow, ”explained the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Certificate of double standards”

According to the deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, Vladimir Shapovalov, Kiev’s non-recognition of Russian passports among residents of the Donbass is “out of the ordinary”.

“This position of the Ukrainian authorities is contrary to international law. Kiev cannot prohibit one or another resident of the LPR / DPR from obtaining a Russian passport. Ukraine simply does not have any legal grounds for this. Moreover, Kiev is obliged to respect the right of its citizens to obtain citizenship of another state, including Russia, which does not contradict Ukrainian laws, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, Vladimir Shapovalov considers Russia's position on this issue, which was once again demonstrated by Maria Zakharova, "verified and to the maximum extent correct."

  • Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
  • RIA News
  • © Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

“In this way, Moscow is building its diplomacy, without passing to offensive gestures. At the same time, the tone of the statement by Kuleba testifies not only to the low level of Ukrainian diplomacy and the low level of culture of the Minister of Ukraine, but also to the fact that Kiev has nothing more to answer to legitimate actions of Moscow except this kind of phraseology, ”the analyst noted.

As MP of the DPR People’s Council Miroslav Rudenko stated in an interview with RT, Kiev’s non-recognition of Russian passports of DPR and LPR residents is “evidence of double standards” by the Ukrainian authorities, as dual citizenship is not uncommon among the Ukrainian population and the country's political elite.

“Many politicians, as well as ordinary Ukrainians, have two passports: the residents of Transcarpathia have Hungarian passports, the residents of the Chernivtsi region have Romanian passports. In the territory of Galicia, many Ukrainians have Polish citizenship. But Kiev seems to forget about it and continues to discriminate exclusively with the population of Donbass, ”Rudenko emphasized.

“Holds out a helping hand”

Recall that in April 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the simplified receipt of Russian passports by residents of the LPR and the DPR. The term for consideration of applications for the purchase of relevant documents should not exceed three months.

According to the Russian leader, such a measure is aimed at protecting human rights and is a matter of a "purely humanitarian nature." Putin also explained that Moscow “has no desire to create problems for the new Ukrainian government.”

“But to endure a situation in which people living on the territory of these Donetsk and Lugansk republics are deprived of any civil rights whatsoever - this is already crossing the border from the point of view of human rights,” the Russian president said.

As stated in the commentary of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, published in February 2020, “Kiev introduced the financial, economic, transport and energy blockade of Donbass, as a result of which its residents were on the verge of survival.”

“They were actually deprived of civil rights guaranteed, in particular, by the 1966 international pacts on economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights,” the statement said.

  • A serviceman of the NM DPR examines a burned-out house in the village of Shakhty 6-7 in Gorlovka
  • © Sergey Averin / RIA News

The Russian Foreign Ministry also clarified that "having unilaterally severed ties with certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, Kiev made their residents de facto stateless."

“They were cut off from everything: the system of nationwide financing and banking services, social benefits, pensions, salaries, communications, education and healthcare,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

According to Miroslav Rudenko, the introduction by Moscow of a simplified mechanism for obtaining Russian citizenship for the population of the LPR and the DPR "actually saves the people of Donbass from the deaths, military aggression of Ukraine, as well as economic, social and political pressure."

“Kiev continues to act with repressive methods, turning a blind eye to all the war crimes of the Ukrainian army, arresting dissent, not allowing any documents to be issued to the population of Donbass and not recognizing internal ones. Do not forget about the economic blockade. All this together created extremely difficult living conditions, ”said Rudenko.

According to the expert of the Institute of the CIS countries Igor Shishkin, Russia's measure is extremely important for the residents of Donbass, since the LNR and DNR passports have not received international recognition.

“For humanitarian reasons, Russia is going to provide documents of an international standard, thereby restoring the civil rights of the population, which were simply abducted by Ukraine. This is a big step towards the residents of Donbass, on whom Kiev imposed a lot of restrictions - the inability to go abroad if the passport of Ukraine is expired or lost as a result of hostilities. Kiev does nothing to resolve these problems, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

In turn, Vladimir Shapovalov called the issuance by Russia of passports according to a simplified scheme to the residents of Donbass "a civilizational way out of the catastrophically difficult humanitarian situation to which Kiev brought these territories."

Chance of support

Miroslav Rudenko said that the Donbass does not expect steps from the new Kiev authorities to meet the inhabitants of the DPR and LPR.  

“Vladimir Zelensky, who came to power on the promises of peace, continues the political course of Petro Poroshenko, who advocated the genocide of the population of the republics. Now everyone who provides at least some support to the Donbass are considered enemies in Ukraine, ”Rudenko said.

  • Passers-by on one of the streets of the city of Donetsk
  • © Mikhail Voskresensky / RIA News

According to him, ultimately, "a large part of the population of Donbass will enter Russian citizenship on a voluntary basis," since it gives them significantAdvantages: the opportunity to receive high-quality professional education, find a decent job, reunite with your family, and receive social benefits.

At the same time, Kiev, on the contrary, “is doing everything to ruin the life of the Donbass residents,” Vladimir Shapovalov believes.

Note that at the beginning of this year, more than 200 thousand people in the Donbass received relevant documents.