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The Russian occupation authorities have announced that only those who receive Russian citizenship will be able to work and receive social benefits in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. Russian invaders resort to such methods because Ukrainians are in no hurry to obtain passports from the aggressor country. And, in the overwhelming majority, they strive to keep their Ukrainian documents. In Russia, by the way, dual citizenship is allowed, but Ukrainians who keep their passports are threatened with reprisals, FREEDOM reports.
In Mariupol, the Russian occupiers ordered all employees of municipal institutions to change their Ukrainian passport to a Russian one. Whoever refuses will be left without work and will receive the stigma of being unreliable. And so that people don’t think too much, they promise money along with a Russian passport.
“It says that from March 1, the pension will be raised … I say, well, yes. It says, and you know, whoever has Russians will raise their pensions. Now to get Russian passports again, there was a rush, because people were refusing passports for so long: “Why do I need a Russian passport, I’m not going to Russia … ..”. Remember, everyone made Donetsk passports, DPR ones, and now neither DPR nor Ukrainian ones are needed, Russian passports are needed, ”from the interception of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (GUR MO) of Ukraine.
The Lugansk regional military administration reports that in the territories occupied by Russia, representatives of the occupation authorities go door to door and offer people to get passports.
“They go around the settlements, go around the yards, checking the presence of Russian documents. Those who do not have it yet are forced to write an application on the spot. The hunt for the Russian hryvnia continues. At the same time, they did everything to make it difficult to receive social payments, even in rubles,” from a message from the Luhansk Regional Military Administration.
In the temporarily occupied Melitopol, Zaporozhye region, where, according to the mayor, about 50,000 residents remain, only less than 5 have received Russian passports. These are not the numbers that propaganda can boast of.
Ukrainians do not want to take Russian citizenship. It does not provide any even short-term privileges and is rather a way for the Kremlin to designate the occupied territories. And as it was on the example of the same liberated Kherson: all these signs of the “Russian world” disappear immediately after the de-occupation.
“I am sure that our residents will definitely not do this on their own. Therefore, we urge our residents to leave the temporary occupation, but every day it becomes more and more difficult to do this, it also becomes more difficult to convey objective information to our residents, ”said the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov.
The Ukrainian government reminds that the Kremlin needs passports in order to mobilize men into the Russian Army, judge people according to the laws of Russia, that is, as it pleases, and create a picture for the Kremlin propaganda.
“Compulsory passportization will not give anything to the occupiers. Of course, they are trying to make the life of Ukrainian citizens unbearable from the point of view of a normal human existence. But all these efforts are in vain. For the de-occupation is coming soon. Everyone please evacuate. Men must leave temporarily occupied territories to avoid being drafted into the enemy army. It is also better for women and children to leave so that they are not used as human shields,” explained Irina Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.
By the way, mass forced passportization is a time bomb for Russia itself, since it does not at all guarantee loyalty to the occupiers.
Ukrainians, in order to survive, can get Russian passports, because the occupiers do not allow humanitarian missions and do not allow Ukraine to help its citizens. But even from a pragmatic point of view, a Ukrainian passport is much more attractive: you can go to another country with it, find asylum and help there.
Kremlin passportization in the temporarily occupied territories is a serious violation of international law. Therefore, Kyiv is already developing a bill introducing criminal liability for it.
