Ukraine urges OSCE participating states to respond to the Kremlin's decision on issuance of Russian passports in occupied Donbas by not recognizing these documents and expanding sanctions.

"These challenges [arising from the decision of the Russian Federation to provide expedited Russian citizenship for Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas] are very serious, they result from a gross violation of the OSCE principles and require a strong response from the OSCE member states. Such a response may include non-recognition of such passports, issued illegally by the Russian Federation, as well as any legal actions with these documents, and the extension of restrictive measures against officials and institutions involved in the illegal expediting Russian citizenship for Ukrainian citizens," Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna Ihor Prokopchuk said at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The Ukrainian diplomat noted that the issuance of Russian passports in the occupied parts of Donbas could be used not only as an occasion for legitimization and expansion of the Russian military presence in Ukraine but also would lead to persecution of Ukrainians, who would not apply for Russian citizenship, by the occupation authorities.

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