The Russian Interior Ministry, in a statement on Sunday (2 May), said that more than 527,000 Ukrainians living in eastern Ukraine, where separatist formations are waging a war against the central government in Kiev, have been granted Russian citizenship over the past two years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in April 2019 issued an order for a simplified and expedited citizenship process for residents of those areas.
"Since the start of fulfilling the Russian president’s decree of April 24, 2019 until the present, more than 527,000 individuals, who permanently live in the territories of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, have received Russian citizenship," the statement said.
