Russia's Interior Ministry claimed on Aug. 9 that it had issued 2.2 million passports in occupied Ukrainian territories of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts since October 2022.
The figure was published by a Russian Interior Ministry official, Irina Volk, on her Telegram channel. The claim could not be immediately verified.
Russia systematically coerces residents of the occupied territories to accept Russian passports, the U.S. research group Ukraine Conflict Observatory reported last year.
Ukrainians living in the occupied territories "are subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and basic necessities, and possible detention or deportation," the Yale University researchers said.
In July 2022, a few months after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing a simplified Russian citizenship process for all residents of occupied Ukrainian territories.
Putin also signed an executive order in April 2023 that set a deadline of the summer of 2024 for residents in the occupied areas of Ukraine to apply for Russian citizenship. Refusal to accept a Russian passport carries severe penalties, including loss of property rights, prison sentences, and deportation.
Already on July 4, Ukraine's National Resistance Center said that the occupation authorities are threatening residents without a Russian passport with deportation.
Russia's process of forced passportization is two-fold. Firstly, the occupation authorities streamline the process for Ukrainian citizens to acquire Russian passports. Secondly, Russia imposes de facto restrictions against those who refuse.
This may include denial of medical services, social benefits, the ability to drive and to work, and even overt threats of violence or intimidation.
During the massive flooding of the Kherson Oblast following the breach of the Kakhovka dam last year, Russia allowed evacuations only to Russian passport holders, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported.
Nate Ostiller
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