Putin orders Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship or leave by September
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a new directive requiring Ukrainians living in Russia to either legalise their immigration status or leave the country by September 10, according to a presidential decree published on Thursday.
The order applies to Ukrainians without valid residency permits, forcing them to either obtain Russian citizenship or exit the country within the next six months and ten days, as reported by The Moscow Times.
The decree specifically targets Ukrainian passport holders from four partially occupied regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia - which Russia claimed to have annexed in 2022. Additionally, residents of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, are also affected.
For years, Russian authorities have pressured Ukrainians in these occupied territories to accept Russian citizenship, with Putin previously claiming that the mass issuance of Russian passports in these regions was "virtually completed" last year, The Moscow Times reported.
Ukraine has strongly opposed Russia's "passportisation" policy, calling it illegal and a serious violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. Western nations have also criticised the measure, with the European Union refusing to recognise Russian passports issued in these occupied territories as valid travel documents.
Even as tensions rise over the decree, ceasefire discussions between Russia and Ukraine continue. Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had a "very good" one-hour phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump also held discussions with Vladimir Putin earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations are set to take place in Jeddah on Sunday, with U.S. officials expecting Ukraine to support agreements reached during recent talks between Trump and Putin.
Trump’s Special Envoy, Steven Witkoff, revealed to Fox News that he had two lengthy meetings with Putin, discussing potential pathways to peace, including an agreement on energy infrastructure ceasefires from both sides.