KYIV, Ukraine
\nKremlin-installed officials in occupied southern Ukraine celebrated Russia Day on Sunday and began issuing Russian passports to residents in one city who requested them, as Moscow sought to solidify its rule over captured parts of the country.
\nAt one of the central squares in the city of Kherson, Russian bands played a concert to celebrate Russia Day, the holiday that marks Russia\u2019s emergence as a sovereign state after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to Russia\u2019s state news agency RIA Novosti.
\nIn the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, Moscow-installed officials raised a Russian flag in Melitopol\u2019s city center.
\nUkrainian media reported that few, if any, local residents attended the Russia Day festivities in the two cities.
\nRussia Day was also celebrated in other occupied parts of Ukraine, including the ravaged southern port of Mariupol, where a new city sign painted in the colors of the Russian flag was unveiled on the outskirts and Russian flags were flown on a highway leading into the city.
\nAlso, the Russia-aligned administration in Melitopol started handing out Russian passports to those who applied for Russian citizenship. RIA Novosti posted video of a Moscow-backed official congratulating new Russian citizens and telling them: \u201cRussia will not go anywhere. We are here for good.\u201d
\nPresident Vladimir Putin earlier this year issued a decree fast-tracking Russian citizenship for residents of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. In captured cities in the south and east, Moscow has also introduced the ruble as official currency, aired Russian news broadcasts and taken steps to introduce a Russian school curriculum.
\nThe Kremlin\u2019s administrators in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have voiced plans to incorporate the areas into Russia, despite protests and signs of an insurgency among local residents.
\nRussian-installed officials Sunday in Melitopol reported an explosion in a garbage bin near the city\u2019s police headquarters and said two residents were injured.
\nAnother blast was reported at an electrical substation in the city of Berdyansk, which is also under Russian control. The Kremlin-backed administration pronounced it a terrorist attack, and officials said electricity was shut down in parts of the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV, Ukraine Kremlin-installed officials in occupied southern Ukraine celebrated Russia Day on Sunday and began issuing Russian passports to residents in one city who requested them, as Moscow sought to solidify its rule over captured parts of the country. At one of the central squares in the city of Kherson, Russian bands played a concert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3212,8546,456],"class_list":{"0":"post-266261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-russian","9":"tag-solidify","10":"tag-ukraine"},"yoast_head":"\n