Russia sends new FSB agents to beef up repression and passportization in occupied Kherson Oblast

Russia currently occupies that strategically important southern Kherson Oblast, which is integral to supplying occupied Crimea. This explains why the Kremlin has dispatched additional FSB ‘idealogues’ to the region, reported the CNR.

The primarily goal of the new FSB agents is to escalate the searches of residents in occupied Kherson Oblast, said the CNR. Special attention will be paid to scrutinizing personal documents, especially those belonging to individuals who are unsupportive of the occupation.

Russian occupying forces will also attempt to compel Ukrainian citizens to obtain Russian passports.

The Russians aim to identify and counteract members of the resistance movement, acknowledging the potency of the Ukrainian underground in tandem with ongoing strikes by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on key military targets in enemy territory, the CNR said.

FSB personnel also protect collaborators in occupation “administrative bodies” and individuals responsible for organizing and conducting the "electoral process" in the occupied territories.

Russia has already deployed around 35,000 troops from the National Guard (Rosgvardia) to the temporarily occupied territories, said the CNR. These forces are designated as rear units with the specific role of suppressing civilian resistance, including screening civilians and identifying participants involved with the underground movement.