MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to 35 Ukrainian nationals, according to a document published on Russia's official website for legal information on Monday.
In late January, the Russian Federal Migration Service increased the 90-day residence term for Ukrainians on a Putin initiative. Earlier, the president said that many Ukrainians leave for Russia to dodge being drafted into the army and avoid being sent to the conflict zone as "cannon fodder."
By early February, some 500,000 Ukrainians received refugee status or temporary residence permits in Russia, according to the Russian Security Council.
The Ukrainian government decided to conduct three waves of mobilization expected to bring the number of troops in the Kiev army to over 140,000 people in 2015. The troops will participate in the military operation in eastern Ukraine launched against independence supporters of the Donbas region in April 2014.
