In a special session Tuesday, the Verkhovna Rada passes in its first reading the law  #5630  that is set to ease сitizenship application procedures.  The legislation amending the law On Ukrainian Citizenship got the votes of 302 MPs.

The greenlight from lawmakers now eases a path to Ukrainian citizenship for two specific groups.

• Russian nationals facing persecution back home
• Foreign nationals or stateless persons who served in the Ukrainian military or took part in an anti-terror operation in Donbas.

The MPs are set to fast-track the second reading to make the law effective as soon as possible.

Back in 2019, the Ukrainian parliament axed a dual citizenship legislation after ‘European Solidarity’ party argued it could legalize holders of Russian passports in Donbas making them regular Ukrainian voters and even allowing them to be elected to the Verkhovna Rada. The idea doesn’t sit well with Ukrainian voters either with almost half of them saying no to such legislative push, according to the survey conducted by COSIC in Ferbury.