Putin signs decree allowing deportation of residents of annexed territories who refuse Russian citizenship

Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order that will allow the Russian authorities to deport people who refuse Russian citizenship from Ukraine’s annexed territories.

According to the decree, Ukrainian citizens and residents who hold passports issued by the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” must either become Russian citizens or declare their desire not to.

Anybody who opts not accept Russian citizenship will be considered a foreign citizen beginning on July 1, 2024, and will thus be subject to deportation from any territory that Russia considers its own.

The decree also includes a paragraph on the deportation of people who “pose a threat to the national security” of Russia. Any residents of the annexed territories who advocate for a “forcible change to the foundations of [Russia’s] constitutional order,” finance “terrorist” or “extremist” activities, or participate in “unsanctioned” protest events, will be deported and banned from entering Russia.