Over 8,000 residents in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia have received Russian passports and citizenship

Russia has claimed that over 8,000 residents in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, have received Russian passports and citizenship, as reported on Tuesday, August 30.

In addition to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia residents receiving Russian citizenship and passports, a total of over 35,000 applications for Russian citizenship have been filed, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Centres for the receipt of documents for the acquisition of citizenship and the issuance of passports of the Russian Federation have been created under the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the region, the bodies have been operating since May in all major cities and towns of the region.

Any resident of the region can apply for them. “Over 8,000 residents of the liberated territories of Zaporizhzhia region have already received passports of citizens of the Russian Federation,” the report stated.

A total of over 35,000 applications from residents of the liberated territories for Russian citizenship have been submitted.

Those wishing to obtain a Russian passport may have their Ukrainian documents translated and have their fingers and palms dactyloscoped. These and other services are provided without payment of state duty.

The verification and processing of documents takes anywhere between three weeks to three months. On average, the procedure takes a month.

“Obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation is a voluntary wish of every resident of the liberated territories”, the ministry said in a statement, as quoted by Russian state news agency TASS.

The news comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has headed to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, following rising tensions with Russia, as reported on Monday, August 29.

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