Ukraine does not recognize the pseudo-referendums held by Russia on the temporarily occupied Ukrainian lands. Any “document” issued by the occupiers on Ukrainian territory is not recognized by Ukraine or other democratic countries.
“Ukraine has abandoned Donbas and Crimea,” was the Russian media’s response to the presidential bill on multiple citizenship in Ukraine. Referring to the text of the document, pro-Kremlin media stated that Ukraine would automatically “deprive of citizenship” all residents of the territories temporarily occupied by Russia, and this allegedly indicates “recognition of new Russian entities.”
“The draft law on multiple citizenship in Ukraine will actually be the first step towards recognizing the Russian status of six subjects of the Russian Federation, including Crimea and Sevastopol,” Russian media wrote.
On January 22, 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted draft law No. 10425 on multiple citizenship to the Verkhovna Rada. The President explained the need to amend the legislation. Zelenskyy noted that the draft law will simplify the process of acquiring citizenship by ethnic Ukrainians from around the world who were forced to leave Ukraine during different waves of emigration and ended up in Europe, the United States, Canada, Asia, and Latin America. The draft law also proposes to regulate the issue of acquiring Ukrainian citizenship by foreign volunteers who stood up to defend Ukraine.
The draft law also provides for the loss of Ukrainian citizenship by those who have voluntarily become Russian citizens. It is this provision that the pro-Kremlin media seized on.
This draft law specifically states that citizenship can be deprived only if “a citizen of Ukraine has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a state recognized by the Verkhovna Rada as an occupying country, aggressor country or unrecognized state (pseudo-country)” (Article 20, part 1). However, this article refers to the 2014 law “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine.” This is the main document that protects the rights of Ukrainians living in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. The 2014 law stipulates that Ukraine categorically does not recognize any Russian documents issued by the Kremlin in the temporarily occupied territories under duress (Article 5). The same provision has been transferred to the new draft law.
Also, the agitprop “forgot” to mention that Ukraine does not recognize the pseudo-referendums that Russia “held” on the temporarily occupied Ukrainian lands. Citizens of Ukraine who remained living in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and Sevastopol after the occupation still remain citizens of Ukraine. Ukraine guarantees the preservation of Ukrainian citizenship to residents of the temporarily occupied territories. Any “document” issued by the occupiers in the Ukrainian territories is illegal and is not recognized by Ukraine or other democratic countries.
As of today, the presidential draft law No. 10425 on multiple citizenship is only being prepared for consideration in the first reading. This means that by the time the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopts the document as a whole, it will still go through the process of making amendments. It is also worth recalling that in December 2021, President Zelenskyy already submitted a similar draft law No. 6368 on multiple citizenship to the Verkhovna Rada, but the document was never considered. Therefore, it is too early to talk about any changes in Ukrainian legislation on citizenship.
Since 2014, pro-Kremlin media and the Russian government have been actively promoting disinformation on the topic of citizenship, trying to legalize not only the illegal seizure of Ukrainian territories, but also the forced Russian passportization of Ukrainian citizens. Read more in Fake: Ukraine Will Evict Residents of Crimea and Donbas after De-occupation and Fake: Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson Region Have Right to Self-determination under UN Charter.
