EU slams Russia citizenship move as new attack on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to the media after his talks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un talk in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, April 25, 2019. President Vladimir Putin says after talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Pyongyang is ready to proceed toward denuclearization, but that it needs serious security guarantees to do so. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

BRUSSELS – The European Union has criticized Russia's move to fast-track citizenship applications from people living in conflict areas in eastern Ukraine, calling it "another attack on Ukraine's sovereignty by Russia."

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday to expedite the applications from some Ukrainians living in areas held by Russia-backed separatists. Those granted Russian citizenship would have to swear allegiance to Russia.

European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said Thursday the fact that Putin's move came just days after presidential elections in Ukraine "shows Russia's intention to further destabilize Ukraine and to exacerbate the conflict."

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who won a landslide victory in Ukrainian presidential elections Sunday, said Russia's move confirms its role as an "aggressor state" in the conflict in the east.