Ukraine has accused Russia of exerting illegal pressure on Ukrainians in occupied territories to change their legal status or leave their homes, stating it will report this practice to the International Criminal Court.
Russia, which controls nearly one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, issued a presidential decree indicating that Ukrainian citizens living "in Russia without legal grounds" must "regulate" their status by September 10. The term "regulate" was not explicitly defined, but Russia has been urging Ukrainians in these areas to obtain Russian citizenship.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign ministry, condemned the decree as a "despicable act." He described it as part of Russia's ongoing campaign of discrimination, persecution, and forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens, or an attempt to compel them to acquire foreign status.
Russia, which frequently denies allegations of abuses, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from its foreign ministry.
President Vladimir Putin's decree affects Ukrainians living in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as in occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Moscow unilaterally declared these Ukrainian regions to be Russian territory in 2022 following its full-scale invasion.
Tykhyi stated that Ukraine would appeal to the International Criminal Court to consider this decree as additional evidence of war crimes committed by the Russian leadership. In March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and children’s commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. Kyiv claims to have officially confirmed the illegal abduction of at least 19,000 children by Russia since the onset of the full-scale war, while Russia asserts it is assisting children in leaving the war zone.