The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reports that Russia has accelerated the process of granting Russian citizenship to residents of the occupied regions of Donbas before the negotiations in the Normandy Format (Ukraine - Russia - France - Germany).
The press service of the Ministry of Defense said this in a statement, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation takes measures to accelerate the so-called "passportization" of the population in the temporarily occupied territory in Donetsk and Luhansk regions by changing the order of military service with 1 (Donetsk) and 2 (Luhansk) army corps of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In particular, from October 1, only military personnel with Russian passports and persons who began to register Russian citizenship according to established procedure will serve in the units of the Russian occupation forces," the statement reads.
The Main Intelligence Directorate states that by increasing the number of Russian citizens in the temporarily occupied territory at the expense of local residents, Russia is trying to strengthen its position in international negotiations to resolve the situation in Donbas.
Besides, it is noted that in this way the Russian Federation plans to prevent the loss of its influence in the region if it is forced to agree to certain concessions on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements and retains the potential for further aggression against Ukraine.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy considers the so-called Steinmeier formula a difficult issue, the decision on which will be made exclusively by the leaders of the Normandy Format countries at the upcoming meeting, which may be held in September.
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