Minister of Justice calls on Crimeans not to hand over Ukrainian passports
Simferopol, March 19 (Navigator, Evgeny Andreev) – Minister of Justice of Ukraine Pavel Petrenko, on the air of Kyiv Channel 5, called on Crimeans in Russian not to renounce Ukrainian citizenship. Anyone wishing to leave the peninsula is welcome on the mainland.
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“I appeal to those who live in Crimea. Do not hand over Ukrainian passports. You are citizens of Ukraine. You are actually now hostages of the invaders, those people who, at gunpoint, are trying to change your history, your destiny. A person who, with his head held high, remains a citizen of the country where he was born and raised, must himself make the decision to change citizenship. No one has the right to impose such a decision on him,” the official said.
“Therefore,” Petrenko switched to Ukrainian, “the question here is very simple, this is the civil choice of every person. Either he will adapt, or he will be a citizen of Ukraine.”
According to the head of the Ministry of Justice, “the Ukrainian authorities are ready to accept people who cannot live in crime-prone conditions in Crimea, to give them the necessary housing and social support.”
“For this, the operational headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers has worked out all the necessary measures and, expecting such a possible course of events, we are fully prepared for it,” assures Pavel Petrenko.
The Minister of Justice urges Crimeans not to surrender their Ukrainian passports.