KHARKIV, Ukraine –
As Russian missiles pounded a key Ukrainian city, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday expanding a fast-track procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship available to all Ukrainians, yet another effort to expand Moscow’s influence in a Ukraine. devastated by war.
Until recently, only residents of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as residents of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, much of which is now under Russian control, could apply for the passport procedure. simplified.
Ukrainian officials have yet to react to Putin’s announcement. Monday’s decree also applies to any stateless residents currently in Ukraine.
Between 2019, when the procedure was first introduced for residents of Donetsk and Luhansk, and this year, more than 720,000 people living in rebel-held areas in the two regions (about 18% of the population) have received Russian passports. .
At the end of May, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the fast-track procedure was also offered to residents of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and the first Russian passports would have been delivered there a month ago.
The Russian passport move appears to be part of Putin’s strategy, which could also involve annexing territory to the Russian Federation. The Russian president laid the groundwork for such moves even before the invasion, writing an essay last summer asserting that Russians and Ukrainians are one people and seeking to diminish Ukraine’s legitimacy as an independent nation.
The passport announcement came as Russian shelling of Ukraine’s second-largest city killed at least six people on Monday and injured 31 others, prosecutors and local officials said. Hours earlier, Russian troops launched three missile strikes in Kharkiv, which one official described as “absolute terrorism.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes hit the deployment points of “nationalist battalions”. Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram that the shelling came from multiple rocket launchers and that those hospitalized for injuries in the attacks included children aged 4 and 16.
“Only civilian structures, a shopping center and houses of peaceful residents of Kharkiv, were attacked by the Russians. Several shells hit the yards of private houses. Garages and cars were also destroyed, several fires broke out,” he wrote. Synyehubov.
Earlier, he said that one of the missiles Russian forces launched over Kharkiv overnight destroyed a school, another hit a residential building, while the third landed near warehouse premises.
“All (all three were launched) exclusively on civilian objects – this is absolute terrorism!” Synyehubov said.
Kharkiv resident Alexander Peresolin said the attacks came without warning, causing him to lose consciousness.
“I was sitting and talking to my wife,” he said. “I didn’t understand what happened.”
Peresolin said neighbors took him to the basement, where he later regained consciousness.
The attacks came just two days after a Russian rocket hit apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 30 people in the city of Chasiv Yar. A total of nine people have been rescued from the rubble, but more are believed to be trapped, emergency officials said.
Saturday night’s attack destroyed three buildings in a residential neighborhood used mainly by people who work in nearby factories. The Russian Defense Ministry insisted on Monday that the target “in the area of” Chasiv Yar was a Ukrainian territorial defense brigade, and that “more than 300 nationalists” were killed.
Russian strikes also continued in eastern Ukraine, with Lugansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai saying on Monday that shelling hit settlements on the border with the Donetsk region. Russian forces carried out five missile strikes and four rounds of shelling in the area, he said.
The Luhansk and Donetsk regions together form the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine known as Donbas, where separatist rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Earlier this month, Russia captured the last major Ukrainian resistance stronghold in Luhansk. , the city of Lysychansk.
The British Army said on Monday that Russian troops were running out. The Defense Ministry tweeted that online videos suggested at least one Russian tank brigade was “mentally and physically exhausted” as they had been on active combat duty since Russia invaded on February 24.
Also on Monday, Russia’s main gas pipeline to Germany began a 10-day shutdown for maintenance, raising European fears that Moscow may not be able to reopen the flow after completion. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and is the latter’s main source of Russian gas. Gas is usually shipped to other countries as well. It is scheduled to be out of service until July 21.
German officials are suspicious of Russia’s intentions, particularly after Russian energy giant Gazprom last month cut the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 by 60%.
The promises and supply of Western weapons to Ukraine continued on Monday.
In Kyiv, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting that his country would supply self-propelled shells and howitzers. Rutte also promised financial support for Ukrainian teachers, doctors and pensioners.
Zelenskyy said that he spoke with Rutte about the potential role of the Netherlands in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
——
Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report
____
Get in touch
Do you have any questions about the attack on Ukraine? Email [email protected].
- Please include your name, location and contact information if you are willing to speak with a CTV News reporter.
- Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.