Putin Forces Russian Citizenship on Occupied Territories

On April 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree for the deportation of Ukrainians from the territories of Ukraine occupied by Moscow: namely, parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

The document says that Ukrainians living in the occupied territories who decide to retain Ukrainian citizenship can live there until July 1, 2024. After that, they can be deported.

A separate clause of Putin’s decree refers to the “deportation” of those who pose a “threat to Russia’s national security.” Foreigners who advocate “forcible change of the foundations of the constitutional order” in Russia, finance terrorist and extremist activities, or participate in “unauthorized” actions will be deported and “banned from entering the country.”

According to the decree, foreigners will be considered those citizens who “declare their desire to retain their existing citizenship or remain stateless” and have not taken the oath of Russian citizenship.

Yevhen Balitsky, the Russian-installed collaborationist governor of the seized part of Zaporizhzhia region, has pledged to ensure full Russian passportization in this territory by May 9, according to Serhiy Lyshenko, a member of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council in free Ukraine. Lyshenko said that those who did not want to obtain Russian passports were being deported from Melitopol and deprived of their property on April 25.

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In the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia region, the rate of Russian passportization is very low, so the Russian invaders are introducing more pressure on local residents, forcing them to apply for Russian citizenship.

On Sept. 23-27, 2022, sham referendums on accession to the Russian Federation were held in the temporarily occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

Within a week Putin signed “decrees” recognizing Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions as “independent territories.”

On Oct. 5, 2022, Putin approved the ratification of “treaties” on the “acceptance” of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine into Russia. He signed federal constitutional laws on their inclusion into Russia.