"Forced passportization" - a renewed attack on Ukraine's occupied territories

Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories who fail to apply for Russian citizenship can face loss of property and even imprisonment. 

Putin's April executive order paved the way for forced "passportization", a bureaucratic means of cleansing occupied territories of Ukrainian opponents.

PAP/EPA/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN / POOL

In April 2023 Putin signed an executive order, setting a deadline for Ukrainians to apply for Russian citizenship in the occupied areas:

Putin has signed a degree on simplified issuance of Russian passports to residents of #Zaporizhia and #Kherson oblasts. In fact, this means the forced passportization of residents of the Ukrainian occupied territories. #StopRussia pic.twitter.com/uXwcBwd2tq

— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) May 25, 2022

This is the first step in a process of "political and ethnic cleansing" as Ukrainians who refuse face confiscation of property and even prison and/or deportation from their homes.

A process that has already been used in Crimea, the executive order enables Russia to identify Ukrainians who are openly critical of the invasion.

In May 2023 there were reports of forcing Ukrainians to accept Russian citizenship in Kherson Oblast. The Russian occupiers conduct door to door visits threatening local people with power cuts and eviction if they fail to comply with Putin's executive order.

Sources: Ukrainska Pravda, Kyiv Independent

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