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Forbes
Forbes
3 Aug 2023


In August 2023, the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab published a report on “Forced Passportization in Russia-Occupied Areas of Ukraine” finding evidence of Russia’s systematic practise of targeting the Ukrainian identity and forcing residents of occupied areas of Ukraine to accept Russian citizenship. The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab is part of the Conflict Observatory initiative documenting alleged violations of international law and crimes against humanity, including war crimes, by Russia-aligned forces in Ukraine. As the report shows, Ukrainians in the Russia-occupied territories face serious existential threats unless they accept Russian citizenship. The report comes after reports of forcible transfers of population and illegal adoptions of Ukrainian children in Russia. Indeed, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova for their unlawful deportation of population (children) and unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the ICC.

UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-WAR

Construction workers climb onto the roof of a destroyed church in the village of Bohorodychne, ... [+] Donetsk region on January 4, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. - Bohorodychne is a village in the Donetsk region that came under heavy attack by Russian forces in June 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On August 17, 2022, the Russian forces captured the village. The Armed Forces of Ukraine announced on September 12, 2022, that they took back control over the village. A few residents came back to restore their destroyed houses and live in the village. (Photo credit: DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

According to the report, and based on a comprehensive review of open source material, residents of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya oblasts are subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and basic services, and possible detention or deportation, all practices designed to force them to become Russian citizens. These practices are reminiscent of the passportization campaign that Russia has been executing in Crimea and areas of Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014.

However, the issue goes even further. According to Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, Russia’s federal government “has enacted laws that de jure streamline applying for a Russian passport [and] Russia’s occupation officials have imposed de facto restrictions on those without Russian citizenship that make it impossible to live in Russia-occupied areas without accepting a passport.” Among the restrictions are the denial of medical services, social benefits, humanitarian assistance, and the ability to drive and work.

Furthermore, Vladimir Putin signed into law new federal provisions that will allow for the detention or deportation of individuals who do not acquire Russian citizenship. According to the report, “Local authorities in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic have begun planning the establishment of detention facilities for ‘foreign citizens’ – all residents who remain in Russia-occupied areas after July 1, 2024, without obtaining a Russian passport. Even for those who accept Russian citizenship, amendments to Russia’s law on citizenship will leave these holders of ‘acquired citizenship’ vulnerable to denaturalization at any time, effectively making them second-class citizens.” Residents who do not accept Russian citizenship must register as foreign residents. “Those failing to do are forcibly taken to a Ministry of Internal Affairs office to be fingerprinted and photographed.”

The practices identified by Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab are flagrant violations of international law, such as the prohibition on discrimination against people living under occupation based on nationality, and forcing people to declare allegiance to an occupying power - both illegal under the Hague Convention and the Geneva Conventions. The practices further add to the ever-growing argument that Putin targets the Ukrainian nation and intends to destroy Ukrainians as a national group, in whole or in part, and so help to build the case of genocide against Putin.

The report shines a light on the dire situation in the Russia-occupied territories and the persecution people are subjected there to purely based on their nationality. It sends a warning to anyone advocating for a solution to the war that would remove territories from Ukraine. This is the reality that Ukrainians would face there - threats, intimidation, restrictions on basic services, and possible detention or deportation - the reality of persecution on grounds of their national identity.