Russia-Ukraine war: Babies born in Kherson after Feb 24 being given Russian citizenship

All children born in the occupied region of Kherson after February 24 and all orphans living there at present are being issued Russian citizenship, according to the Oblast’s deputy head Kirill Stremousov. Just last week, TASS had reported that at least 23 Kherson residents had received Russian passports after the country’s President Vladimir Putin inked a decree allowing the same. Located just north of the Crimean Peninsula, Kherson was one of the first regions to come under Russian control. Since then, Zelenskyy’s troops have launched several counteroffensives, regaining control of several parts of the Black Sea steppe. 

“Children born after February 24 on the territory of the Kherson region will automatically receive citizenship of the Russian Federation. Plus, orphans will also be registered as citizens of the Russian Federation,” Stremousov told state-controlled RIA Novosti news agency. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office said that at least 318 children have been killed while more than 581 have been injured since February 24. It said that the aforementioned figures were drawn by juvenile prosecutors, but the count still remains underreported. In a separate statement on Thursday, it said that over 900 children were killed or injured in Ukraine as a result of Russia's full-scale armed aggression. 

It has been 113 days since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' on Ukraine for what he said was an attempt to 'denazify and demilitarise' the erstwhile Soviet state. After initially failing to capture Kyiv, the invaders shifted their focus to the eastern industrial region of Donbas. Interestingly, both sides constantly keep on sharing details of their attacks and destruction in a bid to manoeuvre public opinion in their favour and win the ongoing war of propaganda. 

New epicentre of Russia-Ukraine war

As the war continues to ravage Europe, Russian troops have shifted the centre of their offensive to Severodonetsk in the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR). The Ukrainian Governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, told The Associated Press that “heavy fighting in Severodonetsk continues today as well.” Separatists held Luhansk and Donetsk regions make up the Donbas region. As the situation gets worse, Haidai said that Zlenskyy’s forces were “holding the enemy from three sides at once.” 

(Image: AP)