Zelensky proposes Ukrainian citizenship for foreign fighters

Apart from taking in wide array of Western-supplied weapons, Kyiv has also seen thousands of citizens from slew of countries fighting alongside its forces on the front

By AFP

January 23, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian students along with the Polish Prime minister during a meeting in Kyiv on January 22, 2024. — AFP

Kyiv, Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday announced draft legislation that could pave the way for foreigners fighting against Russia in his country to receive Ukrainian citizenship.

Thousands of foreigners rushed at the beginning of Russia´s invasion of Ukraine to help fend off Moscow´s forces trying to wrest control of the country and topple Ukraine´s leadership.

“Foreign volunteers who took up arms to defend Ukraine, all those who fight for Ukraine´s freedom as if it were their homeland. And Ukraine will become such for them,” Zelensky said in a post on social media. He was announcing new proposed legislation that would formally allow Ukrainians to gain dual citizenship, with the exception of Russia. Zelensky also said he had signed a decree titled

“On the Territories of the Russian Federation Historically Inhabited by Ukrainians,” without providing details. He said the aim of the document was to push forward “the restoration of truth about the historical past for the sake of Ukraine´s future.”

Apart from taking in a wide array of Western supplied weapons, Kyiv has also seen thousands of citizens from a slew of countries fighting alongside its forces on the front. Among them, units comprised of Belarusians and Russians have also joined the fight. Both states are considered to be “aggressor countries” by Kyiv, since Russian forces also attacked Ukraine from Belarusian territory.

UN panel to grill Russia on fate of Ukrainian children: Moscow will be asked to explain at the UN on Monday what has happened to thousands of Ukrainian children believed to have been forcibly sent to Russia since its 2022 invasion.

Kyiv estimates that 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child — a panel of 18 independent experts — is set over two days to examine Russia´s record, as part of a regular review.