Earlier in May, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said Artemenko lost his citizenship under a decree of the country's president, Petro Poroshenko, after obtaining a Canadian passport. Since Ukrainian laws prohibit dual citizenship, a motion to unseat the lawmaker was moved to parliament.
According to Ukraine's constitution, a lawmaker is prematurely deprived of his parliamentary seat in the event of losing the citizenship.
In February, The New York Times reported on Artemenko's plan, which called for the "withdrawal of all Russian forces" from eastern Ukraine and a referendum to lease Crimea to Russia for up to 100 years. Kiev has criticized the move and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has even initiated a criminal case against Artemenko on charges of treason.
