KIEV (Sputnik) — On February 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that validated IDs, birth certificates and vehicle registration plates, among other documents issued by eastern Ukrainian authorities to permanent residents, on Russian territory.
Russian Foreign Minister explained the move, saying that the decision was made to validate Donbass residents' documents for humanitarian reasons, and added that the presidential decree will remain in force until the Minsk peace deal is implemented.
According to an NBU statement, if the reports of Sberbank's readiness to provide services for holders of DPR and LPR passports prove to be true, the Bank will approach the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDCU) with an initiative to introduce sanctions against Sberbank's subsidiary in Ukraine.
After the eruption of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, over a million of Donbass residents applied for a refugee status and temporary shelter in Russia. According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, more than 1 million people fled to Russia following the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine, of whom approximately 600,000 decided to settle there permanently.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine’s southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.
