Ukrainian rebel region residents can join Russian military
ABC News
A Russian lawmaker is encouraging residents of the rebel-controlled areas of Ukraine who hold Russian passports to join the Russian army
MOSCOW -- A Russian lawmaker is encouraging residents of the rebel-controlled areas of Ukraine to join the Russian army, a sign that Moscow is continuing to try to integrate those territories as much as possible amid Western fears that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine.
Viktor Vodolatsky said Saturday that residents of the regions controlled since 2014 by Russia-backed rebels fear assaults by Ukrainian forces and that those who hold Russian passports would be welcomed in the military.
“If Russian citizens residing in the (territories) want to join the Russian Armed Forces, the Rostov regional military commissariat will register and draft them,” Vodolatsky, deputy chairman of parliament committee on relations with neighbors, told the state news agency Tass.
Russia has granted passports to more than 500,000 people in the territories. Vodolatsky said the recruits would serve in Russia — but that leaves open the option that they could join any future invasion force.
