Ukraine undertook to prove that Crimeans were forced to take Russian passports
More than six years after the reunification of Crimea and the Russian Federation, Ukraine complained to the UN about the issuance of Russian passports to the population of the peninsula.
A letter from the permanent representative of Ukraine to the UN, Sergei Kislitsa, sent to the organization’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres, states that passportization was “forced”, and those who refused to obtain Russian citizenship were allegedly deported and persecuted.
“The Russian occupation administration in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, continues its artificial campaign of forced passportization, is an element of the repressive policy of the aggressor state regarding citizens of Ukraine who are forced to live under occupation... The lack of a Russian passport often becomes the basis for forced deportation and ban to enter the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol,” the letter says.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry emphasized that those who renounced Russian citizenship were also taken “under the pencil” by Russian security forces.
“An integral aspect of automatic passportization was the threat of persecution of pro-Ukrainian activists, incl. journalists, by the occupation authorities. The history of the occupation showed that residents of Crimea had every reason to fear that, due to the submission of applications to renounce Russian citizenship, the occupation authorities were carrying out an “inventory” of opponents for repression,” asserts Ukrainian diplomacy.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.