DONETSK, Ukraine: Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine’s separatist Donetsk province on Wednesday began issuing their own passports in a bid to reassert their independence from the Western-backed leaders in Kiev.
The red documents are similar in appearance to their Russian counterparts and are issued by the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic — a region whose independence has not even been recognised by Moscow.
The first passports were issued to the industrial region’s rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko and a group of teenagers who turned 18 during the 23-month conflict and are required to have their own identity papers.
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Source: theSun