Putin Considers Passports for Ukrainian Rebels, Fueling Tensions
- ‘Instruments’ ready to issue Russian passports, senator said
- Russia backs separatists in conflict with Ukraine since 2014
A woman passes in front of the Slaviansk sign that is full of holes caused by clashes between the Ukrainian government and rebel groups in Slaviansk, Ukraine.
Photographer: Cristopher Rogel Blanquet/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Russia may offer passports to people living in breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, according to lawmakers, a move that would reignite tensions in the conflict with the government in Kiev that’s backed by the U.S. and Europe.
“All the instruments” are ready for providing passports to people in rebel areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions and it only requires an order from President Vladimir Putin to start the process, according to Andrei Klimov, a senator on the international affairs committee in Russia’s upper house of parliament.