Ukraine: Russian occupation authorities threaten Ukrainians without Russian IDs with deportation and property seizure

Russia’s military continues to force people in occupied Ukrainian territories to become Russian citizens, Ukraine’s Armed Forces General Staff says in its daily bulletin.

The military officials say Russian servicemen visit households in Tavria, the Kherson region, and check if local residents have Russian IDs. They say that Ukrainian citizens who fail to obtain Russian citizenship by 1 June will be deported and have their personal property confiscated.

Vladimir Putin signed a law on 18 March, allowing Russian nationals to withdraw from their Ukrainian citizenship upon filing a request with the police.

Russia’s Interior Ministry designed the way a formal statement of “unwillingness to be a Ukrainian citizen” should look like in early April. Dmitry Zakhvatov, a lawyer, has told Novaya Gazeta Europe that this procedure is entirely invalid in legal terms and will not really withdraw people from their Ukrainian citizenship since such things can only be made based on Ukrainian legislation.