Russia Offers Its Passport In Occupied Kherson, But Only 23 Ukrainians Accept

Not exactly the massive endorsement of occupation for which the Russians were hoping. JL 

Timothy Bella reports in the Washington Post:

Only 23 Ukrainian citizens in the Russian-controlled city of Kherson have accepted Russian passports. The distribution of Russian passports has been going on throughout the invasion; the acceptance of the documents is seen as one way to justify the invasion. Russian occupiers also handed out the first passports in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol. Russia did not say how many people in the southeastern city accepted (since that city is known to be a center of Ukrainian partisan resistance activity).

Only 23 Ukrainian citizens in the Russian-controlled city of Kherson have accepted Russian passports, according to state media Saturday.

The distribution of Russian passports has been going on throughout the invasion; the acceptance of the documents is seen as one way to justify the invasion.

Among the 23 people in the southern city to accept a Russian passport was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Saldo, who for years has been with the Party of Regions, a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.

“For me, this is a truly historic moment,” Saldo said, according to state media outlet RIA Novosti. “I have always thought that we are one country and one people.”

Russian occupiers also handed out the first passports in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol. Russia did not say how many people in the southeastern city accepted a passport, but claimed that “more than 70,000 people” have applied for Russian passports during the invasion.