'They are instruments of terror' — Parents in occupied Kherson Oblast who refuse Russian passports threatened with losing parental rights
Occupation authorities force parents in occupied Kherson Oblast to obtain Russian passports or risk losing parental rights, the Center of National Resistance reported on July 30.
"These are not documents. They are instruments of terror," Kherson Oblast Governor Ivan Dudary told the center.
Russia conducts forced passportization in the occupied territories as it aims to establish its control and erase the identity of Ukrainians living under occupation.
In the village of Askaniya-Nova in occupied Kherson Oblast, parents have been threatened with the removal of their children or loss of parental rights if they do not obtain Russian passports.
Askaniya-Nova is located deep within occupied territory and about 52 kilometers (32 miles) from Ukrainian-held territory in Kherson Oblast.
Without obtaining a Russian passport, Ukrainian civilians living under occupation cannot receive medical assistance, pass military checkpoints, and risk mobilization, the Center of National Resistance reported.
"Parents are manipulated because of their children, and children are manipulated because of their education. As of today, it is just impossible to survive in occupied territories without Russian documents," Kateryna Rashevska, legal advisor at the Regional Center for Human Rights in Kyiv, previously told the Kyiv Independent.
