SIMFEROPOL, June 23. /TASS/. High demand for Russian passports in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions shows that local residents tend to support accession to Russia, Crimea's Permanent Representative to the Russian President Georgy Muradov said.

"As for legal processes, the regions need to define their own path. However, I do know that the issuance of Russian passports encouraged people to support the idea of restoring the historic region of Tavria. It makes it clear that the process of integration with the Russian Crimea - with Russia - will continue," he pointed out.

On May 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree relaxing rules for granting Russian citizenship to residents of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. On June 11, the first passports were presented to the Kherson region’s residents at a ceremony dedicated to Russia Day marked on June 12.