MELITOPOL, August 15. /TASS/. More than 30,000 people have applied for Russian citizenship in the Zaporozhye region, Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the region’s military civilian administration, said on Monday.

"More and more Zaporozhye region residents are applying for Russian citizenship. As of today, more than 30,000 such applications with a complete package of necessary documents are being considered at passport issuance centers. At this stage, we continue to work on mechanisms to address particular cases when passport issuance procedures are delayed," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Balitsky, twelve centers are receiving documents for passport issuance: three in Melitopol, two in Berdyansk, one in Akimovka, one in Priazovye, one in Tokmak, one in Mikhailova, one in Dneproprudny, one in Energodar, and one in Kamenka.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 25 signed a decree to simplify the procedure of issuing Russian passports for people living in Ukraine’s Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.