Ukraine's parliament passes dual citizenship bill to motivate returns
In an attempt to motivate people to come back home, Ukraine is allowing multiple citizenship for the first time ever in the country's history, the parliament in Kyiv, Verhovna Rada, decided in a bill passed on Wednesday.
The president must now sign the law before it enters into force, which is expected to be a formality, given that Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself submitted the bill last summer.
Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister for national unity, says it is a crucial step to motivate the Ukrainians to come back home — not only those who left after Russia's all-out war in 2022, but also those who had to leave Ukraine when Russia first invaded in 2014.
The number of Ukrainians currently abroad is very close to the number of those living in Ukraine: approximately 32 million Ukrainians reside in their home country, while up to 25 million Ukrainians are abroad.
With this move, Kyiv wants to "unite Ukrainians throughout the globe," Chernyshov told Euronews.
'There are Ukrainians who stepped into the citizenship of other countries and we want to keep their Ukrainian identity, to give this opportunity to them. Within the current setup, there was only one choice of Ukrainian passport so now our citizens have the solution,' he explained.
The Ukrainian government now needs to draft a list of countries whose citizens will be eligible for dual Ukrainian citizenship.
Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia said the law does not apply to Russian citizens or citizens of countries that do not recognise Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Chernyshov told Euronews that Kyiv expects a third of those who left Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in early 2022 to come back once the "the peace solution is reached," while the rest are likely to "monitor the situation and see whether it makes sense to come back."
'The answer lies in the framework of economic development and further reforms of our country that would definitely pave the way for future development and creation of new jobs, new opportunities, new business developments. And we are very, very dedicated to it," Chernyshov explained.
'I think they bring a lot of value to countries of the European Union right now. I heard it from many ministers of European Union countries, they value a lot the Ukrainian presence. That is why we will also have to compete among the labour markets and to provide better conditions:"
What makes Ukraine optimistic about the return of its people is the past experience when the Ukrainians rushed to go back after Russian troops were pushed out of the Kyiv region and Kherson city, but also the fact that they were forced to leave their homes, rather than being willing to do so.
'Ukrainians came to Europe because of the full-scale aggression. They were not planning to do that. They feel, of course, in a way, homesick, and it's well understood," Chernyshov said.
The bill also establishes new grounds for losing citizenship, including receiving a Russian passport or serving in the Russian military.
Multiple citizenship will be recognised for foreigners from the listed countries who apply for Ukrainian citizenship, or if Ukrainian citizens apply for citizenship in these countries. It will also be recognised for Ukrainian spouses of foreign citizens and other specific cases.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, even as Moscow steps up its war against Ukraine.
Speaking to international news agency editors in St Petersburg on Wednesday, Putin suggested that Moscow could help negotiate a settlement allowing Tehran to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme while assuaging Israeli security concerns.
Putin said it was a "delicate issue" but believed that "a solution could be found".
The Russian leader said he had shared Moscow's proposal with Iran, Israel and the US.
"We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel," he said.
Israel hit a critical Iranian nuclear site and Iranian missiles struck an Israeli hospital on Thursday, the seventh day of a conflict that started with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists in Iran.
The Israeli air campaign against its rival has killed several Iranian military commanders and hundreds of civilians, while Iran's strikes in response have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.
Asked how Russia would react if Israel were to kill Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin refused to answer, saying he did not "want to discuss such a possibility".
Khamenei has rejected US calls for surrender in the face of Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by Washington would cause "irreparable damage".
US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the US knew where Khamenei was "hiding" but that "we are not going to take him out ... at least not for now".
Russia has maintained a balancing act in the Middle East for decades, staying on good terms with Israel even as it developed strong economic and military ties with Iran, a policy that could allow Moscow to play power broker in the region.
Yet the Kremlin signed a strategic partnership agreement with Tehran in January, while its relationship with Israel has been tested by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
After the Israel-Iran conflict broke out last Friday, Russia has urged Israel to show restraint in its campaign against Iran and condemned its attacks against its rival as "violations of the UN charter and international law" — the same contraventions the international community has repeatedly said Moscow has been committing in Ukraine.
Asked on Wednesday at the St Petersburg meeting about Russia denouncing Israel's strikes on Iran while Ukrainian civilians are being killed in attacks by Moscow, Putin responded that Russia was targeting the country's arms factories.
However, widespread damage to residential buildings and other civilian targets in Ukraine has been documented during the conflict, including this week.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian emergency workers pulled more bodies from the rubble of a nine-story Kyiv apartment building demolished by a Russian attack earlier this week, raising the death toll from the strike on the capital to 28.
Russia's intensified attacks against Ukraine in recent weeks have been condemned by several international organisations — including the OSCE and the Council of Europe — as violations of international humanitarian law.
Two rounds of direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv failed to make progress on ending Russia's war, now in its fourth year.
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