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National Resistance Center: New forced passportization strategy targets teens

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National Resistance Center: New forced passportization strategy targets teens
A high school destroyed by Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, July 2023. (Photo by Andriy Andriyenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Russian authorities in occupied regions of Ukraine are threatening to withhold high school certificates from students who do not agree to accept Russian passports, the National Resistance Center reported on Aug. 13.

In the Russian Federation, all citizens receive an internal passport at age 14.

According to the center, many Ukrainian teenagers in Russian-occupied regions have not applied for these passports. As a coercive measure, Russian proxies in these areas are leveraging high school certificates, refusing to grant them to students without a Russian passport.

"Moscow is not satisfied with the pace of Russian citizenship in the regions," the center said.

Forced passportization is an ongoing assault against Ukrainian civilians in the occupied areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. Those who refuse to accept Russian passports are subject to intimidation, restrictions to social benefits, and possible violence.

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Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

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Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war has become a daily reality for thousands of Ukrainian children. Some Ukrainian military units, such as the Azov Brigade, offer boot camps for teenagers to teach them the basics of self-defense, first aid, dry firing, and other survival skills — helping them prepare for both the realities of today and the uncertainties of the future.

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