President Putin to strip passports of Russian citizens who oppose Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly suggested changes to a Bill that would allow the Kremlin to strip the passports of those who have acquired Russian citizenship if they oppose the ongoing Ukraine war.

According to The Kyiv Independent, which cited Kremlin-run news agency Meduza, Putin’s proposal of amendments will apply to Ukrainians who received Russian passports during Moscow’s occupation.

"Discrediting the Russian army", "spreading fake news" and "participation in the activities of an undesirable organisation", will all be deemed as crimes that will subsequently lead to the stripping of passports. This isn’t the first time that the Kremlin has threatened citizens and criminalised speaking against the war. Earlier this year, the Russian Parliament introduced laws that would allow a prison sentence of up to 15 years for those who break the rule. 

Earlier in September, Ramzan Kadyrov, a Putin ally, called anti-war protesters “enemies” and threatened of sending them to the battlefield. Kadyrov, who is the head of the Chechen Republic, said on Telegram, “These people must be detained, these people must be sent to places [in which] a special operation is being carried out, and then it will be seen who they work for and what they really want.”

Ukraine's Kherson was liberated as Russian troops withdraw

The recent move comes surprisingly after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian region of Kherson. However, Ukraine remains vigilant, as well as skeptical. Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine’s defence minister, warned that "the war is not over". 

While Ukraine remains cautious, it also celebrates the liberation of Kherson. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the war-torn country will  “see many more such greetings". 

“Today we all feel enthusiastic together. I don't know if we have at least one person who hasn't watched the video of our Kherson people greeting the Ukrainian defenders,” he said in a nightly address.

"After several months of Russian occupation, months of the mockery of our people, months of stories that Russia is supposedly there forever, the Ukrainian streets are still covered in the sea of Ukrainian flags. People did not even think of refusing Ukraine. And the world sees it now," he said.