Russia is forcing employees of certain sectors in occupied territories to take Russian passports if they want to continue working, the Ukrainian military's National Resistance Center said on Dec. 30.
The occupying "authorities" have informed employees of state-run companies, particularly doctors and utility workers, that they need to obtain a Russian passport and write a form renouncing their Ukrainian citizenship if they want to continue working, the center said.
Russia is reportedly launching employment centers in the area, but it will only be possible to register with the centers with a Russian passport, according to the center.
Russian forces are also reportedly forcing residents in occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast to get Russian passports to receive their payments, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Dec. 11.
Earlier on July 13, European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the EU wouldn't recognize Russian passports issued to Ukrainian citizens in occupied territories.
Russia has used a simplified procedure to hand out Russian passports in Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, occupied since 2014. Russia has distributed around a million Russian passports on Ukrainian territory since 2019.
