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| Balaklavas appear to be part of the uniform |
Foreign mercenaries rally in Kiev, demanding Ukrainian citizenship from Poroshenko
Politnavigator
October 17, 2015
Translated from Russian by Tom Winter
There was a demonstration today right up to Poroshenko’s administration building. The foreign mercenaries fighting in Donbass on the side of Ukrainian troops demanded that Poroshenko fulfill his promise made almost a year ago, to give them Ukrainian citizenship.
It is reported by Ukrainian edition of “Vesti”.
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“Standing in the defense of this country, I never thought that I would be protesting at the presidential administration building… They promised us citizenship, but today I’m stateless and I find myself on the international wanted list. In Russia, I’m wanted for mercenarying,” said one of the Russian mercs fighting in the neo-Nazi regiment “Azov”.
Artyom Skoropadsky, press secretary for Pravy Sektor, addressed the demonstrators proclaiming “It’s time for the president to fulfill the promises he made in December.”
Earlier, President Poroshenko promised to grant Ukrainian citizenship to foreign mercenaries who fight in the Donbass, and on October 6 the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill allowing citizens of other countries to obtain Ukrainian citizenship under a simplified scheme.
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*For an earlier comment from V.V. Putin, see this.