Crimean lawmakers want Russia to grant special perks to citizens of the separatist ‘republics’ in Donetsk and Luhansk

Federal lawmakers from Crimea have spearheaded new legislation introduced to the State Duma that would allow citizens of the unrecognized “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk to find work in Russia without formal permission. The law would equate residents “of certain areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine” to refugees or people with temporary asylum.

The same group of lawmakers has also drafted legislation that would allow Donetsk and Luhansk “citizens” to remain in Russia until the conflict in Ukraine is resolved (they’re currently permitted to stay in Russia for 90 days).

Didn’t Putin already sign something about LNR and DNR passports?

In February 2017, President Putin signed an executive order recognizing passports issued by the separatist authorities in Luhansk and Donetsk, requiring all Russian agencies and companies to accept these documents. Russian lawmakers say there were 157,500 and 102,474 people with passports from Donetsk and Luhansk, respectively, as of January 2018.