ISW explains why Putin allowed deportation of Ukrainians without Russian passports from occupied territories

Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree allowing the deportation of people without Russian citizenship from the occupied territories after 1 July 2024 is aimed at encouraging local residents to obtain Russian passports and creates conditions for the deportation of Ukrainians from their territories.

Source: Institute for the Study of War

Details: On 27 April, Vladimir Putin signed a decree that codifies the conditions for further mass deportation of residents of the occupied oblasts of Ukraine to Russia, as the Institute's report states.   

It is noted that the Russian president signed a decree entitled "On the Peculiarities of the Legal Status of Certain Categories of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Russian Federation" that defines those who are living in Russian-occupied territories who have declared their desire to retain their current citizenship and who refuse to obtain Russian passports as "foreign citizens and stateless persons currently residing in the Russian Federation".

The decree stipulates that such persons may continue to reside in the occupied territories until 1 July 2024, suggesting that they may be deported after that date.

"This decree codifies coercive methods to encourage residents of occupied areas to receive Russian passports and also sets conditions for the deportation of Ukrainians who do not agree to become Russian citizens," ISW analysts state.

The institute emphasised that the Russian authorities are also continuing other attempts to deport Ukrainians, including children.

ISW continues to believe that all efforts to deport Ukrainians to Russia may violate the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and may constitute a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing.

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