Sputnik Correspondent: Melitopol Residents Lining Up to Get Russian Passports

Life is gradually returning to normal in the areas of Ukraine that are under Russian control amid Moscow's special military operation. Sputnik correspondent Ceyda Karan visited a zone of the special operation, and offers her thoughts on the developments.

Queues are lining up at the Russian passport centers which have opened in Ukrainian territories currently controlled by Russian forces.

Queues to Receive Russian Passports

In the city of Melitopol, Russian citizenship centers issue an average of up to 30 passports per day.

The city’s streets and avenues look busy, as Melitopol suffered little damage due to the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine departed the city without creating a massive “defense line” there.

Educational and medical institutions are operating in Melitopol in a routine mode. Additional funds have been allocated for the repair of schools, where the Ukrainian language is taught, among other subjects. On top of that, there is a process of forming new political parties in the city.

As for Russian passports, obtaining them is “a long-awaited event,” not only for middle-aged and elderly people, but for young people as well, Melitopol residents say.

Nadezhda, a woman born in the resort town of Anapa located in Southern Russia, said that she was born in Russia, which is why “everything connected with the country is very dear and valuable” to her. “Now there will be free education and free medical care here, everything that we had before and that we were once deprived of,” she added when receiving the Russian passport.

A 80-year-old resident of Melitopol, Nina Sergeevna, for her part spoke about how she'd had to live amid constant bombing for the last four months.

“Now peace has finally been established. Everything is very good. I have never wanted and don’t want to leave Melitopol. This is my home,” the long-time resident underscored, adding that she was born in Belarus.

'We Won't Be a Second Kosovo'

In Melitopol, Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporozhye region, spoke about plans to hold a local referendum on the Zaporozhye region joining Russia, an event that was earlier initiated by regional trade unions and public organizations.

Balitsky cited the situation with Kosovo as an example, saying that former Yugoslavia was actually split by NATO without a referendum.

“We will not be a second Kosovo, where the population could not express its will. We will hold an honest and transparent referendum and do what our people want,” he stressed. According to Balitsky, the Zaporozhye region has no goal of creating a separate republic or joining Crimea.

“During the referendum, the residents will be asked one simple question: do they want to join Russia or not,” he added.

'Radical Nationalism Turned Ukraine Into a Sick Man'

Balitsky also said that radical nationalism had had a detrimental effect on Ukraine, damaging the state structure. He insisted that Kiev's move to deliberately cut off electricity, water and gas in the Donbass region was nothing short of genocide.

“Despite this pressure from Ukrainian authorities, we will not bow our heads to [WWII Nazi collaborator Stepan] Bandera, who will never be a hero to us. For us, a hero is someone who defends his homeland. We will remain Ukrainians, but at the same time we want to become part of Russia,” Baltitsky emphasized.

Bandera is notoriously known for serving as the head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, which was responsible for massacres and ethnic cleansing in Western Ukraine, through its express wartime collaboration with Nazi Germany.

Balitsky's words reflect the desire of the population of the region to join the multinational Russia in response to oppression from Ukraine.

In conclusion, I would like to quote a colleague working in one of the European media outlets, with whom we went to Donbass together. Summing up the situation in the region, he said, "In the long run, Russia operates in the territory where the Russian population lives."