Russian passports distributed in Mariupol

Russian passports have been distributed in the city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine that had been taken under control by Russian forces earlier this month, Petro Andryushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, said on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

"The de facto annexation of Mariupol, in particular, has begun," Andryushchenko wrote on Facebook.

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order allowing residents of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to apply for Russian citizenship under a fast-track procedure, according to media reports.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which allows residents of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to apply for Russian citizenship under a fast-track procedure.

"The decree of the President of Russia is legally null and void and will have no legal consequences," the ministry said in a statement.

The issuance of Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens living in the territories seized by Russia is a "gross violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, norms and principles of international humanitarian law," the statement said.