Ukraine asks residents in occupied regions to get Russian passports in order to 'survive'

Ukrainians living under Russian rule were urged by Ukraine’s human rights commissioner to obtain Russian passports for their own safety, describing it as a question of survival. The commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, made his remarks after Russian President Vladimir V. Putin issued an edict last week stating that anyone living in occupied territory who declines to use a Russian passport may be forced to leave their home. This is the newest sign of the Kremlin’s determination to Russify and suppress dissent in regions of Ukraine under Russian control. As per reports, Putin made it clear that he views the occupied lands as being a part of Russia in remarks to parliamentarians on Friday. He declared, “These are our native people, and these are our historical lands.” “Many of you have been there. How do they differ from other parts and other parts of our nation? They aren’t. They belong to our nation,” he said. According to the order signed on Thursday, people who have not sworn loyalty to the Russian Federation are now deemed foreigners, and their right to live in the four occupied Ukrainian territories that Moscow claims it annexed last year, would expire in July 2024. The directive, which doesn’t say where, states that they may be forcibly relocated if they were thought to pose a security threat. Ukraine’s commissioner for human rights, Lubinets, said: “I believe that all citizens of Ukraine who refuse a Russian passport will simply be arrested,” he declared on national television on Sunday night. “And the Russian Federation will hold this particular group of civilian prisoners as hostages,” he added. He exhorted everyone to follow the rules. “I would advise you to take a Russian passport, still make the decision to survive for yourself. It is most important,” he said. “We understand that this happens under pressure, physical pressure. Therefore, take a passport, survive, wait until we liberate this territory.” The directive, which could potentially force thousands of people from their homes, was dubbed “an obvious manifestation of the genocidal nature of the war” by Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.