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From hrw.org in History —

Get a Passport or Leave: Russia’s Ultimatum to Ukrainians

A decree Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on March 20, 2025, requires Ukrainian citizens living in the Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizka, Khersonska, Donetska, and Luhanska regions to either “regulate their legal status” or leave.

Get a Passport or Leave: Russia’s Ultimatum to Ukrainians

A decree Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on March 20, 2025, requires Ukrainian citizens living in the Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizka, Khersonska, Donetska, and Luhanska regions to either “regulate their legal status” or leave. This means they must obtain Russian passports by September 10, or be classified as “foreigners” and subject to foreign residency regulations such as a maximum stay of 90 days, mandatory medical examinations, and a range of work restrictions. This is not just blatant discrimination against and a violation of the rights of Ukrainians who do not want and should not need Russian citizenship. It is a violation of international law and the laws of occupation in particular, and paves the way for the commission of further war crimes by Russia. We have already witnessed Russia’s broader effort to impose its legislation and administrative structures in occupied areas of Ukraine and further unlawfully integrate these territories into its federal system. Russian authorities have issued passports to 3.5 million residents of occupied areas in eastern Ukraine. Evidence suggests that for many, obtaining a Russian passport was not done willingly, but as a matter of survival. As Russian authorities have done in occupied Crimea since 2014, they have used intimidation, threats of arbitrary detention, revocation of property rights, and restrictions on access to medical services, social benefits, freedom of movement, and employment to coerce people in these areas to obtain Russian passports.

The new decree tightens Russia’s already harsh grip over occupied areas.

There are fears Russian authorities will use it to force Ukrainians who acquire a Russian passport to fight in its armed forces, or forcibly deport any of the six million Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine who do not acquire it. Russia has strict obligations under international humanitarian law as an occupying power. Russia does not have sovereignty over the occupied territories and should respect pre-existing laws and ensure the protection of all civilians, regardless of citizenship status. International attention has rightly focused on the widespread detention, torture, and enforced disappearances of Ukrainian civilians in occupied areas, which the United Nations has found to be crimes against humanity. But international law also prohibits Russia from altering the demographics of occupied areas, forcing residents to declare allegiance to them as an occupying power, conscripting them into their armed forces, or forcibly transferring populations.

The last two are war crimes, and any deportations or expulsions of Ukrainians could also constitute a crime against humanity.

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