Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree granting citizenship to a former Bosnian Serb soldier accused of war crimes and other foreigners, the Russian government announced on Tuesday, Kyiv Independent reports.

Ratko Samac, a former Bosnian Serb soldier, is accused of participating in atrocities during the mass expulsion of civilians from the western Bosnian town of Kljuc during the 1990s war, in which at least 150 Bosnian civilians were killed.

The Bosnian Ministry of Justice also suspected Samac of killing three Bosnian civilians in 1993.

Samats has been living in Russia since 1999. Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted a request for his extradition, but Russia refused.

The Jan. 9 decree also granted citizenship to American professional boxer Kevin Johnson, who in 2009 challenged the current mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, for the WBC heavyweight title and ultimately lost.

Johnson moved to Russia in 2023 and was reportedly so enamored with Putin that he decided to change his middle name to Vladimirovich.

Also on the list are Peter Lavelle, an American-born journalist who has worked with state media Russia Today since the 1990s, Canadian ice hockey player Brendan Leipsic, and Andrei Kalageorgi, an American who appears on Russian television and claims to be a direct descendant of Catherine the Great.

A few days earlier, Putin signed a decree according to which foreigners who join the Russian army can apply for citizenship.

The new decree provides that during the invasion of Ukraine, foreigners who join the Russian army will be able to obtain Russian citizenship. According to the decree, their relatives, including the children of foreign fighters, will also have the right to receive Russian citizenship.