Offices issuing Russian passports open in Melitopol

Residents in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol on Friday applied for Russian passports amid Moscow's ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.

As part of the application process, applicants were interviewed and fingerprinted at the passport office before they took an oath abiding by the Russian constitution.

A similar passport office opened in Donetsk earlier in the month. Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded a fast-track procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians earlier this week.