Russia hands out passports to 125,000 residents of rebel-held east Ukraine
![](https://r58b8e.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/worldnewsdyil2auoc8za.gif?time=1718513710)
Russia has issued passports to 125,000 residents of rebel-held eastern Ukraine, Russia’s interior minister said on Monday, deepening Moscow’s ties with the separatist region even as it begins talks with Kiev aimed at ending the conflict.