DISINFO: Russia gave passports to Donbas locals because Kyiv deprived them of any rights and social benefits
SUMMARY
Russia provided passports to Donbas locals, because Kyiv deprived the region of social transfers and pensions, and furthermore denied local citizens their voting rights.
RESPONSE
Since 2014, the Ukrainian government has required citizens in Donetsk and Luhansk, which are not controlled by Kyiv, to register as internally displaced persons in government-controlled areas of Ukraine in order to receive their pensions and other entitlements. The website of the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine declared that residents of the Donbas, who live in territory not controlled by Kyiv, could nonetheless participate in the presidential elections. To do this, they had to come to the Department of State for Voter Registration in order to submit an application. The text of the Trilateral Contact Group (Minsk Protocol) does not stipulate any recognition of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics" nor any need to consult with them about national issues. The text states "to ensure early local elections in accordance with the Ukrainian law... on temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts". There is no mention of the fact that the Ukrainian parliament should coordinate bills with the so-called "DPR" and "LNR". This is a recurring disinformation narrative about the Ukrainian elections.