British intelligence has analyzed a decree by illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to which "Ukrainian citizens who are illegally in Russia are obliged to leave by September 10 or legalize themselves."
Points of attention
- Putin's recent decree on Russian citizenship obliging Ukrainian citizens to leave or legalize themselves by a certain deadline raises concerns about forced Russification on Ukrainian lands.
- British intelligence points out that Putin's decree may aim to forcibly remove Ukrainian citizens who refuse to accept Russian passports and citizenship from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
- Russia's identification of Ukrainian regions as part of the Russian Federation contradicts international recognition of Ukraine's independence and sovereignty, continuing a policy of eradicating Ukrainian culture and identity.
British intelligence assessed Putin's new decree on Russian citizenship
British intelligence noted that on March 20, 2025, Putin signed a decree that obliged Ukrainian citizens living in Russia or in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory to "regulate their legal status by September 10, 2025 or leave this territory."
The British claim that Putin's decree "almost certainly aims to forcibly remove from the Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine Ukrainian citizens who refuse to accept Russian passports and citizenship."
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine — 22 March 2025.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 22, 2025
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/vS9Nroawks #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/mM6aBUaUco
Putin and the Russian top leadership continue to pursue a policy of Russification in illegally occupied Ukrainian territory, part of a long-term effort to eradicate Ukrainian culture, identity, and statehood.
British intelligence officials noted that Russia "erroneously and illegally" identifies both occupied and unoccupied Ukrainian territory in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson regions, as well as Crimea, as part of the Russian Federation.
This directly contradicts Russia's recognition of Ukraine's independence and sovereignty after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as broader international recognition of Ukraine.
In this context, it is worth noting that US Presidential Special Envoy Stephen Witkoff, in a recent interview, actually recognized the "referendums" that Russia held in the occupied territories in 2022.
