The first Russian passports to be issued to residents of Ukraine's Russia-control areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Region have been handed out, Moscow-installed officials have said.
More than 20 people in the Kherson region received Russian passports, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the press service of the Moscow-installed "military-civilian administration" of the region.
"Today, the first passports were issued in Kherson to people who were the first to apply for Russian citizenship," a press service official said, adding that it coincides with Russia Day, which is marked on 12 June.
A member of the Moscow-backed "civilian-military administration" of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region, Vladimir Rogov told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that an unspecified number of local residents also obtained Russian passports at a ceremony in Melitopol.
"For us, this is a significant and historic event. The next step on the way of our return home to Russia," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier signed a decree simplifying Russian citizenship applications for residents of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions.
