Ukraine has accused Russia of exerting illegal pressure on Ukrainians in occupied territories to change their legal status or leave. Ukraine plans to report this practice to the International Criminal Court. The Russian government issued a decree stating that Ukrainian citizens living in Russia without legal grounds must “regulate” their status by September 10. This decree affects Ukrainians living in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as other occupied regions. Russia has been pushing Ukrainians in these areas to obtain Russian citizenship. Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman condemned Russia’s actions as a “despicable act”, part of a broader campaign of discrimination, persecution, and forced displacement. Ukraine intends to present this decree to the ICC as evidence of war crimes committed by the Russian leadership. In a separate incident, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s commissioner for illegally deporting children from Ukraine. Ukraine claims that at least 19,000 children have been abducted by Russia since the start of the war, while Russia asserts it was assisting children to leave the conflict zone. Russia has not commented on the accusations.
