This is part of very aggressive measures by the invading power to either foist Russian citizenship on Ukrainians living in occupied Ukraine, or force them out, with Moscow clearly bringing Russians in as part of its attempts to destroy Ukrainian identity
Pani Antonina, who is 80, wheelchair bound, yet was refused healthcare or a pension because she refused Russian citizenship Photo Dmytro Lubinets
Pani Antonina, who is 80, wheelchair bound, yet was refused healthcare or a pension because she refused Russian citizenship Photo Dmytro Lubinets
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has issued a decree according to which Ukrainian citizens living in their own country will face deportation if they have not taken Russian citizenship. Russia has long been both making it impossible to live on occupied territory without Russian citizenship and threatening deportation, however this is the first time a specific date, has been named. Ukrainians who have not ‘regulated’ their position, i.e. accepted the aggressor state’s citizenship, will now have until 10 September 2025.
The decree from 20 March 2025 s of immense cynicism in part because it could almost seem ‘standard’, with most countries, in principle, demanding that ‘foreign nationals regulate their legal position, or leave the country. Here, however, all the terminology is false, with Ukrainian territory treated as though it were part of the Russian Federation and Ukrainians as ‘foreign nationals’ in their own homeland. Ukrainians do not need to have ‘legal grounds’ for being in the Russian Federation, as they are living in their own country. ‘
In another foul touch, Ukrainians (or others) without Russian citizenship who have been on occupied territory over 90 days after the decree’s publication will have to undergo HIV and drugs tests by 10 June 2025.
Petro Andriushchenko, former Adviser to the Mayor of Mariupol and now Director of the Occupation Research Centre, points out that Ukrainians, forced in this way to take Russian citizenship or risk deportation, will now face greater difficulties. The deadline for being able to take such citizenship according to simplified procedure ended on 31 December 2024, with the process now taking a long time, and involving a number of restrictions.
Russia has been foisting its citizenship on Ukrainians living on occupied territory since 2014, with the measures of coercion becoming more aggressive after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The weapons used have included depriving people of healthcare, including vital medication, such as insulin, unless a person takes Russian citizenship. It rapidly became impossible to receive a pension, and considerably harder to find or keep a job. Parents have been threatened with losing custody of their children if the latter are not enrolled in Russian occupation ‘schools’, with such enrolment only possible if at least one parent has Russian citizenship. All sorts of other functions have also become dependant on obtaining the invading state’s passport, including possession and / or driving of a car. It took a bit longer, however Russia is now refusing to recognize people’s ownership of their own homes or other property unless this is registered under Russian legislation, with this again impossible to do without a Russian passport.
The latter is not only about forcing Ukrainians to take Russian citizenship. The lack of such is being used, as is the fact that many homeowners fled occupied territory, to appropriate Ukrainians’ property. This is claimed to be ‘nationalization’, and there are constant reports that the Russian invaders are illegally ‘allocating’ such plundered land to supposed ‘veterans’ of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
On 5 January 2025, Ukraine’s National Resistance Centre reported that the invaders would, from 5 February, be introducing a so-called ‘register of controlled individuals’ which would include Ukrainians who had rejected Russian citizenship. According to the Centre, you can’t even marry without Russian citizenship, nor can you use banks. As well as threatening to deport those whom Russia calls foreigners, the invaders also began threatening the same measures against those who had received a Russian passport, but had not sworn ‘allegiance’.
Worth noting that, although Russia uses such coercion to foist its citizenship on those physically present on occupied territory, they are making it very difficult for Ukrainians to return, with a huge percentage of those undergoing so-called ‘filtration’ at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow being refused. Russia is, at the same time, encouraging its own citizens to move to occupied territory, as part of its demographic aggression and policy of destroying Ukrainian identity of illegally occupied Ukrainian land.