A decree allowing residents of two Ukrainian regions, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya, to obtain Russian citizenship has prompted objections from Kyiv and the U.S. State Department. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in a statement protested the “illegal issuing of passports,” calling it “a flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as …

The Moscow-appointed leaders of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region will “ask” for a Russian military base, state media reported Tuesday in the latest example of Russia’s creeping grip on captured Ukrainian territories. Russian forces have installed pro-Moscow “military-civilian administrations” and introduced Russian currency, media and internet services in an effort to …

Two southeast Ukrainian regions seized by Russian troops have switched to Russian area codes, state-owned media reported Friday, citing officials. “New telecom operators are already working [in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions],” Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the head of the annexed region of Crime told RIA Novosti news agency. A …