The pace of issuing Russian passports in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions has now slowed down, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov has said.

"It [the statistics of the number of issued Russian passports in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions] is different: we have a figure of 630,000, there is a figure of 740,000. We are talking about those who apply. There are a lot of people who apply, then don't go to get these passports," Danilov said at a briefing.

"They have a whole tourism industry there, they, like hiding behind, do not issue all of them on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions - they export some of them to Rostov region [Russia] and all this is happening there. To date, the pace of issue has slowed down, they are not as sharp as they used to be," the NSDC secretary added.

He noted that the residents of the occupied territories receive identity cards, like "ausweis" during the Second World War, thanks to which people manage to survive, find jobs and receive medical care.

"Hitler issued them so that a person could survive in that territory. The same "ausweis" are issued today on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and a lot of them were issued in Crimea. The fact is that a person does not have the ability to exist in some cases, if he does not have this, let's say, paper," the NSDC secretary said.

According to Danilov, this is a very "sensitive situation," and therefore the Ukrainian authorities will approach this issue very carefully, because "if a teacher or doctor cannot earn for his family, and for one reason or another he is there, because you practically cannot find a job there without this "ausweis," you will not be provided with medical assistance and other things."