Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has paid tribute to the victims of World War II in a visit to the village of Milove along the Russian border, where tensions had escalated during a recent Russian military buildup.

Zelenskiy laid flowers at a memorial in the village, the president’s press service said.

Since 2015, Ukraine marks May 8 as a Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation for those who lost their lives during World War II. It marks Victory Day on May 9.

Milove is located in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, much of which has been under the control of Russia-backed separatists since 2014. The separatists also hold a large part of the adjacent Donetsk region.

“Ukrainians fought together with dozens of peoples against Nazism…and definitely not for war to take the lives of our people 76 years later,” Zelenskiy said during the visit.

Tensions heightened between Moscow and Kyiv in recent weeks, when Russia moved troops along its border with Ukraine and in the Black Sea Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Kyiv said the buildup included paratroopers, electronic warfare systems, ballistic missiles, and other potentially offensive capabilities.

The Russian military claimed on April 29 that almost all its troops had now returned to their permanent bases after participating in massive drills.

Russia has provided military, economic, and political support to the separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Moscow maintains it is not involved in Ukraine’s domestic affairs.

More than 13,000 people have been killed during seven years of fighting between the separatists and Ukrainian forces.

Based on reporting by AP and unian.info

Russia’s Interior Ministry says that more than 527,000 people in parts of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatist formations are waging a war against Kyiv have been granted Russian citizenship over the past two years.*

The ministry’s press service made the announcement on May 2 to the state news agency TASS.

It said around 40 percent of applications had been rejected, citing expulsions or restrictions on entry to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in April 2019 issued an order for a simplified and expedited citizenship process for residents of those areas.

Moscow’s policy of handing out citizenship in Ukraine has come under intense international criticism as a bid to further destabilize the area, where more than 13,000 people have been killed since the fighting started in April 2014.

Ukraine has condemned the Russian naturalization of Ukrainian citizens as part of a hybrid-warfare campaign being waged by Moscow and a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Russia has provided military, economic, and political support to the separatists in parts of Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Moscow maintains it is not involved in Ukraine’s domestic affairs.

The developments come at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks, when Russia launched a major military buildup along its border with Ukraine and in the Black Sea Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

On April 8, Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, said Russia could “be forced to come to the defense” of Russian citizens in Ukraine, a statement that was repeated the following day by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

In November 2020, Peskov said, “Russia has always protected and will continue to protect the interests of Russians, regardless of where they live.”

Viktor Vodolatsky, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on CIS Affairs and Eurasian Integration, told TASS on April 24 that Russia could issue up to 1 million new passports to Ukrainians by the end of the year.

On March 20, a Russian presidential decree came into force banning non-Russian citizens from owning land in most of Crimea.

“The European Union does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia, which is a clear violation of international law,” said an EU statement at the time.

“Therefore the European Union does not recognize this decree and considers its entry into force as yet another attempt to forcibly integrate the illegally annexed peninsula into Russia.”

With reporting by TASS, UNIAN, and The Atlantic
*CORRECTION: A previous version of this story gave an incorrect time frame for the issuing of Russian passports to residents of eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s Interior Ministry says that some 527,000 people in parts of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatist formations are waging a war against Kyiv have been granted Russian citizenship over the past two days.

The ministry’s press service made the announcement on May 2 to the state news agency TASS.

Earlier, Russia had issued 650,000 new passports in the region after President Vladimir Putin in 2019 issued an order for a simplified and expedited citizenship process for residents of those areas.

Moscow’s policy of handing out citizenship in Ukraine has come under intense international criticism as a bid to further destabilize the area, where more than 13,000 people have been killed since the fighting started in April 2014.

Ukraine has condemned the Russian naturalization of Ukrainian citizens as part of a hybrid-warfare campaign being waged by Moscow and a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Russia has provided military, economic, and political support to the separatists in parts of Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Moscow maintains it is not involved in Ukraine’s domestic affairs.

The developments come at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks, when Russia launched a major military buildup along its border with Ukraine and in the Black Sea Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

On April 8, Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, said Russia could “be forced to come to the defense” of Russian citizens in Ukraine, a statement that was repeated the following day by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

In November 2020, Peskov said, “Russia has always protected and will continue to protect the interests of Russians, regardless of where they live.”

Viktor Vodolatsky, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on CIS Affairs and Eurasian Integration, told TASS on April 24 that Russia could issue up to 1 million new passports to Ukrainians by the end of the year.

On March 20, a Russian presidential decree came into force banning non-Russian citizens from owning land in most of Crimea.

“The European Union does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia, which is a clear violation of international law,” said an EU statement at the time.

“Therefore the European Union does not recognize this decree and considers its entry into force as yet another attempt to forcibly integrate the illegally annexed peninsula into Russia.”

With reporting by TASS, UNIAN, and The Atlantic

Orthodox Christians are marking Easter in largely toned-down celebrations due to coronavirus restrictions, with prayers going out that the pandemic will soon be over.

In Jerusalem, on the eve of Easter believers flocked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, packing the revered site where they believe Jesus was crucified and resurrected for the Holy Fire ceremony.

Entry to the church was restricted to those who were fully vaccinated.

Israel has lifted most restrictions, including mask-wearing in public, after a world-leading vaccination drive.

In normal years, Orthodox Easter draws tens of thousands of tourists and pilgrims to holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but this year air travel from abroad is still restricted due to the pandemic.

In Russia, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia led an Easter divine service at the Christ the Savior Cathedral, attended by President Vladimir Putin.

“This Easter is special and its special nature lies in the hope that the bane of the pandemic will pass and, leaving us with a number of important lessons, will after all abandon us forever,” Kirill told the Russia-24 TV channel.

Many countries are restricting normal Orthodox Easter celebrations, after last year much of the world lived in lockdown.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians based in Istanbul, has conducted various Easter celebrations over the weekend with limited attendance, as Turkey is under a strict lockdown.

In Greece, the government kept pandemic restrictions in place through the Easter holiday while preparing to restart services for tourists next week. Many church services were held outdoors and those indoors required social distancing and mask wearing.

In Lebanon, a curfew was in effect to curb the spread of coronavirus and churches were allowed to hold Easter Mass and prayers only at 30 percent capacity.

In Egypt, home to about 10 million of Coptic Christians, churches were told to limit attendance to 25 percent or less.

In the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and all Africa prayed for the joy of Christ’s resurrection to “drive away all the clouds of the pandemic and bring back the smile on your face, the love in your heart, the optimism in our eyes.”

In Serbia, which has a fairly high rate of 50 vaccine doses administered per 100 people, believers are expected to attend church services.

RFE/RL’s Balkan Service reported concerns that churches may continue a tradition of sharing communion from a common spoon.

Last year, 90-year-old Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej died from COVID-19 a month after leading a service for Metropolitan Amfilohije, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, who also died from the virus.

With reporting by AP, RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, Orthodox Times, and TASS