Russia claims Ukraine's Melitopol city residents applying for Russian citizenship amid war

As the ongoing Ukraine war continues with no signs of cessation anywhere in sight, Russia has claimed that a significant number of residents in Melitopol city have applied for Russian citizenship. Located in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast region of southeastern Ukraine, Melitopol city is currently occupied by the Russian forces. Galina Danilchenko, Melitopol's acting mayor appointed by Russia, claimed that there are already 10,000 people in line for citizenship. "We have a lot of applicants, Melitopol residents want to obtain Russian passports as well as citizenships. Pre-registration has already exceeded 10 thousand people - a month and a half in advance," Danilchenko stated, TASS news agency reported. 

The Russian-appointed mayor further noted that the city's administration is working on the issue of opening additional passportization points in a bid to speed up the process between the submission of documents, their processing and the issuance of passports. Danilchenko, who is also the head of the military-civilian administration of Melitopol, claimed that the necessary team of specialists have been employed at the centres to hasten the process of receiving and processing documents. 

The first Russian passports were issued in Melitopol in June

According to her, several dozen people and consultants, are also working to help people make copies of the necessary documents, as well as to translate from Ukrainian into Russian. "For the convenience of Melitopol residents, passportization points work daily, feedback has been established, and specialists inform applicants about the readiness of documents and the time of their receipt," Danilchenko remarked, as per the TASS. According to reports, the first Russian passports were issued in Melitopol last month on June 11. At present, at least 70% of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast is under Russian control, whereas, the administrative centre of the region still remains under Ukraine's control. 

Over 10,000 civilians killed in Ukraine: UN report

It is pertinent to mention here that the war between Russia and Ukraine transcended its fourth month recently. Since the onset of conflict in late February, the delegations of both countries have held several rounds of peace negotiations, however, they have failed to yield the desired results. Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has claimed that Russia's armed attack against Ukraine has caused more than 10,000 civilian casualties so far. In its recent report, the UN agency claimed that the ravaging war has significantly worsened the human rights situation in the country.

Image: AP