UK intelligence: Putin's new decree on Ukrainians illegally staying in Russia is way for forced Russification
UK intelligence has analysed Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's stipulating that "Ukrainian citizens illegally staying in Russia must leave by 10 September or legalise their stay".
Source: UK Ministry of Defence on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda
Details: UK intelligence noted that Putin signed a decree obliging Ukrainian citizens living in Russia or on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory to "settle their legal status by 10 September 2025 or leave the territory" on 20 March 2025.
The UK intelligence argues that Putin's decree "certainly intended to force the departure from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Ukrainian nationals who refuse to accept Russian passports and citizenship".
Quote: "Putin and the Russian senior leadership continue to prosecute a Russification policy in illegally occupied Ukrainian territory, as part of longstanding efforts to extirpate Ukrainian culture, identity and statehood."
More details: The UK intelligence noted that Russia "erroneously and illegally" defines both occupied and unoccupied Ukrainian territory in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, as well as Crimea, as part of the Russian Federation.
Quote: "This is in direct contradiction with Russia's own stated recognition of Ukraine's independence and sovereignty following the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as broader international recognition of Ukraine."
Background:
- US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, in a recent interview, actually recognised the "referendums" that Russia held in the occupied territories in 2022.
- Michael Waltz, US President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, recently suggested that a future agreement to end Russia's war against Ukraine could include the loss of territory by Ukraine in exchange for "future security guarantees, the future status of Ukraine".
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