Moscow Tightens Grip: Occupation Forces Push Russian Passports, Import Migrants
The occupation authorities in the captured territories of Ukraine are forcing local residents to accept Russian citizenship, depriving them of choice, while at the same time bringing in migrants in an attempt to strengthen control over the region.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to The Mirror of the Week.
Russia is increasing pressure on Ukrainians who remain in temporarily occupied territories. A new decree dated March 20, 2025, requires them to either leave Russian territory or regularize their legal status within six months, which means forced acceptance of Russian citizenship.
In order to do so, residents are forced to undergo fingerprinting, photographing, and medical examinations. If they refuse, Ukrainians are treated as foreigners or stateless persons, subject to stricter rules, including administrative sanctions and the threat of deportation.
These rules apply not only to Russian territory, but also to the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. In this way, Moscow is trying to change the legal and demographic status of the regions, turning the local population into hostages of its occupation policy.
At the same time, failure to obtain Russian citizenship will result in denial of basic utilities, legal or medical services, or deportation.
This is particularly important for men, as obtaining citizenship automatically means being registered for military service. According to data, in 2024 alone, at least 10,000 men were drafted from the temporarily occupied territories, and this figure may be significantly higher.
In addition to being forced into service, Ukrainians live under the total control of the Federal Security Service (FSB), which views them as potential spies for Ukraine.
Since 2022, more than 100,000 Russians have moved to the occupied territories of Ukraine, most of whom have settled in Mariupol. The Kremlin is encouraging this process with cheap mortgages at 2% and higher salaries in certain sectors.
According to Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, the Russian occupation authorities plan to increase the population of the occupied territories to 10 million people by 2030 by bringing in Russian citizens.
Due to its own demographic crisis, the Kremlin is also actively involving migrants from Central Asia in the reconstruction of Mariupol, promising them simplified citizenship, although this is often accompanied by forced deployment to the front lines.
As The Gaze informed earlier, Russia is massively evicting former residents from apartments in occupied territories, transferring housing to ethnic Russians.