Since the beginning of the year, 3344 foreigners have received Russian citizenship in exchange for participating in military actions in Ukraine on the side of Russia, reported the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Irina Volk, on her Telegram channel.
She also mentioned that migration service employees assisted in obtaining a Russian passport for a person from a neighboring country, who was facing deportation and criminal prosecution at home for participating in hostilities on the side of Russia. According to her, an application for citizenship was received from him in the shortest possible time, and "before the decision was made, a ban was imposed on any coercive measures against him, including deportation."
In 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting Russian citizenship to foreign mercenaries participating in the war. In January of this year, he issued another order for a simplified procedure for granting Russian citizenship to foreigners who signed a contract to serve in the Russian army until the end of the war. Now they can obtain a Russian passport in the shortest possible time, without taking exams on Russian language proficiency, Russian history, and the basics of Russian legislation, and without having a residence permit. Previously, the applicant was required to serve in the Ministry of Defense for at least six months, but now these restrictions are lifted.
The head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies, and Communications, Alexander Khinshtein, explained the innovations by stating that foreigners who participated in battles in Ukraine as part of Russian forces, after obtaining citizenship, can no longer be extradited to their homeland, where they would face criminal prosecution.