Ukrainian Officials Silent After Putin Expands Russian Citizenship To All Ukrainians

Ukrainian officials were silent as Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded a fast-track citizenship path on Monday to Residents in Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.

The move to expand citizenship roles comes after a pivot in Russian strategy to settle for a war of attrition, according to the Wall Street Journal. Previously, the fast-track path was only available for residents in Russian-controlled territories of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions and southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the AP reported.

In 2019, Russian authorities used the measure in Donetsk and Luhansk to further integrate the rebels into the Russian Federation, the AP reported. By 2022 almost 720,000, or 18%, of residents in the regions held Russian passports.