KIEV, April 30. /TASS/. Kiev won’t recognize Russian passports issued to residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR), the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry strongly protests against the opening of passport centers in Russia’s Rostov region, where Ukrainians living in the temporarily occupied areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions can receive Russian passports," the statement reads.

According to Kiev, the move "violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity" and shows "disregard for international law." The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the decision to provide Russian passports to Donbass residents "is legally null and void so Ukraine does not recognize it." It will not change the fact that the Donbass areas currently not controlled by Kiev are part of Ukraine, the ministry emphasized.

Kiev also demanded that Moscow stop the issuance of passports, while international actors "refrain from recognizing documents issued to Ukrainian nationals by Russia". In addition, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry once again called for increasing sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Earlier on Tuesday, the first passport center for DPR residents opened in Russia’s southern Rostov Region.

On April 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree, which eases Russian citizenship rules for residents of certain regions of southeastern Ukraine. "Individuals permanently residing in certain areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions have the right to apply for Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure," the decree reads. According to the document, the decision has been made "in order to protect human rights and freedoms" based on generally accepted international laws.

On April 29, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that although Donbass residents would not have to give up their Ukrainian passports to obtain Russian citizenship, it wouldn’t create confusion. He pointed out that there were a lot of Ukrainian nationals who also held Hungarian or Polish passports.