Ukraine´s new president, Volodymyr Zelinsky, has confirmed that Ukrainians reject Russian President Vladimir Putin´s offer of Russian citizenship and has proposed Ukrainian passports to Russians who "suffer" from Putin´s "tyranny."
The Russian president announced on Saturday that he intended to facilitate the access of all Ukrainians to Russian citizenship, a few days after presenting the same to the people of the separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
Zilinsky, a comedian who was elected president of Ukraine last week and will take office in early June, said on his Facebook page late Saturday: "We will give Ukrainian citizenship to people from all countries suffering from tyrannical and corrupt regimes, Suffering more than everyone . "
He pointed out that, contrary to what is happening in Russia, "We, the Ukrainians, we have the freedom of expression and the media and the Internet is free in our country."
Zilinsky, who lacks political experience, promised to "revive" talks with the two regions that declared independence in 2014, which Kiev and Western countries accuse Russia of supporting militarily, which Moscow denies.
In his letter via Facebook, Zelinsky urged Moscow not to use "threat language or military or economic pressure" with Ukraine.
The European Union immediately condemned Putin´s offer to grant Russian passports to residents of the separatist regions, accusing the Russian president of trying to "destabilize" Ukraine in this transitional period in the presidency.
