President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday thanked Ukrainians abroad for their support during Russia’s invasion and proposed changing the constitution to allow dual citizenship.

Ukraine’s constitution does not give citizens the right to dual citizenship, so millions of people of Ukrainian origin who live abroad cannot hold passports.

In what appeared a symbolic gesture on Ukraine’s Unity Day, marking the anniversary of the unification of eastern and western Ukraine in 1919, Mr Zelensky said he was submitting draft legislation to parliament that would allow dual citizenship.

“Today, I am submitting to the Verkhovna Rada a key draft law that will allow the adoption of comprehensive legislative amendments and the introduction of dual citizenship.

“And it will allow all ethnic Ukrainians and their descendants from around the world to have our citizenship. Of course, except for citizens of the aggressor country,” Mr Zelensky said in a statement.

Ukrainian officials often refer to Russia as the aggressor country following its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and occupation of swathes of Ukrainian territory.

Mr Zelensky has frequently underlined the need for unity as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on, with Kyiv heavily dependent on military and financial aid from abroad.

Thanking the diaspora for its support, including those who had come to fight for Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said, “I am Ukrainian” carried a special meaning and hailed the “indomitability of our people.”

Changes to the constitution need the approval of parliament, a process that could take about a year, and the authorisation of the Constitutional Court.

(NAN)