In June 2019 Russia started giving Russian passports to the inhabitants of the LPR and Donetsk People's Republic under a simplified procedure allegedly on "humanitarian grounds" (such as enabling international travel for eastern Ukrainian residents whose passports have expired). According to Ukrainian press by mid-2021 half a million Russian passports had been received by local residents.  "United Russia" went on the offensive in the Donbass, The Ukrainian Week (15 July 2021) Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak stated in a July 2021 interview with ''Politique internationale'' that 470 thousand local residents had received a Russian passport; he added that "as soon as the situation in Donbass is resolved....The general procedure for granting citizenship will be restored."