After expressing anger at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree
offering people in Ukraine’s breakaway east passports to allow them to
travel abroad, President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky has made his own offer
intended to spite Russia.
Zelensky is now offering Ukrainian citizenship to any Russians who “suffer” under Putin’s rule. It’s not clear how this would work, or if there would be any conditions on moving to Ukraine as part of citizenship.
Realistically the offer is intended to one-up Putin’s offer of
passports, and a chance to present Ukraine as having better freedom of
speech and media than the Russians do.
Putin’s passport offer was meant to practically address a problem, that
people in two Ukrainian oblasts literally can’t get Ukrainian passports.
Putin has now said he is going to “fast-track” those passport applications.
The voters have once again been fooled. What they. got is President Petro Poroshenko in a smaller size.
More freedom in Ukraine? Not for journalists killed or jailed, but in the Western press this is not important enough to get attention.
But he certainly can do it, provide that the parliament would approve it. Of course not. And one cannot imagine Russians taking Ukrainian passports. Cannot imagine anyone wanting to get citizenship of a poor country.
One category of people will do it. Artists and performers on cruise ships — great many of them Russians — suddenly became Ukrainians. That solves the problem of being branded an agent of foreign influence by playing a harp, piano or violin on cruise ships. Or being dancers, acrobats or even waiters. So, sure, humans are adjustable.
Some individuals, for whatever reason, will probably take up the offer – if it gets passed, as you say.
Putin is about the only world leader who seems to care for his fellow Russians. The few who pay attention to world events find that admirable. The rest are watching Game of Thrones, lol.
“…Putin’s decree offering people in Ukraine’s breakaway east passports to allow them to travel abroad…”
Actually, granting them passports would also entitle them to Russian protection against Ukraine or its paramilitary groups. Many residents of S. Ossetia held Russian passports when Russia thwarted Georgia’s attempt to attack S Ossetia (and Abkhazia) in violation of a cease fire back in 2008.