Invaders escalate repression in occupied territories amidst resistance to Russian passportization

Residents in Mariupol are facing threats of dismissal if they refuse to obtain Russian passports, the National Resistance Center civil defense organization reported on June 17.

The center also said that in Enerhodar, in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhya Oblast, employees of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant are subjected to physical torture and inspections.

Moreover, only those in Melitopol who have obtained Russian citizenship for their newborns are eligible for “maternal capital” benefits, the center said. Meanwhile, in Myrne, residents without Russian passports are being forced to undergo fingerprinting.

Russian FSB officers regularly conduct searches of private residences in Enerhodar where residents refuse to obtain Russian passports.

Furthermore, the occupation administration in Russian-occupied Crimea is tightening control over the movement of people into the peninsula.

The National Resistance Center reports that Ukrainian citizens without Russian passports are required to undergo questioning using a polygraph when crossing the Chongar checkpoint at the administrative border between Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast and Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimea.

Previously, it was reported that an emergency doctor in the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol had refused to hospitalize a child because they did not hold Russian citizenship.

The Ukrainian authorities have recommended Ukrainians living under Russian military occupation accept Russian passports if their lives or wellbeing are put in danger through refusal to accept an involuntary change in their citizenship.