President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky emphasizes that residents of the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea are Ukrainians, no matter what language they speak.

"We must return not only our territories, but also our people. Return mentally, they should not lose contact with Ukraine, they are our citizens. And today they are scared, they have Ukrainian passports, they are given "LPR" and "DPR" passports, and now they are also offering Russian ones. It is terrible because they are trying to confuse them in the question of who they are. They are all Ukrainians. The state language is Ukrainian, but they are all Ukrainians, whatever language they speak in Donbas," he said a conference on reforms in Ukraine in Toronto on Tuesday.

Zelensky is convinced that the whole of Ukraine needs to realize this, if the country really wants to return these people.