UNSC schedules urgent meeting to address situation in Eastern Ukraine after Vladimir Putin signs decree to allow citizens to apply for Russian citizenship

Geneva: The United Nations Security Council has scheduled an urgent meeting for Thursday to address the situation in Eastern Ukraine. The development comes in the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday that would grant individuals residing in certain districts of eastern Ukraine the right to apply for Russian citizenship using a simplified procedure. [caption id=“attachment_4198793” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Following the announcement, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko had said that he would ask the UN Security Council to halt Russia from enacting the decree, according to DW news agency. The decree was signed 24 hours after Ukraine’s election commission officially declared Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the winner of the country’s recently held presidential elections.