OREANDA-NEWS. Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will do if Ukraine doesn't recognize the Russian passports issued in Donbas. It is reported by the Russian news agency. According to him, Russia will continue issuing passports to residents of Donbass, and recognizing as invalid by Ukraine will not change anything.

Prior to that, Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman said that the country's Cabinet of Ministers would seek a solution according to which Russian passports issued in the Donbass would be considered invalid in the country. "The Kremlin will continue to issue passports to those who wish it, who fall under the presidential decree," said Peskov. On April 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin, by his decree, simplified the acquisition of Russian passports by residents of self-proclaimed DPR and LPR. May 1, Putin signed a law that simplifies the acquisition of Russian citizenship for certain categories of the population of Ukraine.

Earlier, the Ukrainian government on Wednesday decided to recognize the illegal passports of the Russian Federation, issued to Ukrainian citizens living in the Donbass. This was told to journalists after a cabinet meeting, Minister for Donbas-controlled territories of Kiev, Vadim Chernysh. The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Pavel Klimkin, said that Kiev is preparing a response to the decision of the Russian side to issue passports to residents of Donbass.

"This is an order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which lists the issuance points, the so-called units authorized by the Russian Federation to issue passports starting from certain dates. All documents issued by these bodies will be declared invalid," he said. The minister noted that the government also decided that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine "worked with international partners", so that they would make similar decisions.