Russia ‘Systematically’ Forcing Ukrainians to Accept Citizenship, US Report Finds

THE GUARDIAN: Ukrainians in occupied territories who refuse Russian passports face threats, intimidation and possible detention or deportation, Yale study says

Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territory are being forced to assume Russian citizenship or face retaliation, including possible deportation or detention, a new US report has said.

Yale University researchers found that residents of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were being targeted by a systematic effort to strip them of Ukrainian identity.

Ukrainians who do not seek Russian citizenship “are subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and basic necessities, and possible detention or deportation, all designed to force them to become Russian citizens,” the report said. » | Helen Sullivan | Thursday, August 3, 2023

Lawyer: Snowden Has No Plans to Leave Russia, Might Seek Citizenship

The man who exposed America's global surveillance network, Edward Snowden may be looking to settle in Russia - at least for the mid-term. The whistle blower has been stuck at a Moscow airport for three weeks now - because he lacks the papers to leave. Live to RT's Andrew Farmer and we are joined by RT contributor Afshin Rattansi.

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Edward Snowden 'Considers Seeking Russian Citizenship'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Edward Snowden, the US intelligence whistleblower, could leave the transit zone of a Moscow airport within a week and has not ruled out seeking Russian citizenship, according to a lawyer helping him.

Anatoly Kucherena said in the Russian capital that Mr Snowden, a former computer technician for the CIA and the US National Security Agency, had applied for temporary asylum in Russia and would receive a document allowing formal entry into the country within seven days once his case was accepted for review.

Mr Snowden, 30, has been living in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport since flying in on June 23 from Hong Kong, where he released details of US surveillance programmes for monitoring US citizens' phone and internet activity.

The US wants to extradite him on espionage charges but Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, has refused to hand him over.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Kucherena said he expected Mr Snowden's asylum request to be successful. "There shouldn't be a problem because those grounds which he has indicated, why he has applied to us, are convincing enough. And America shouldn't regard our humanitarian act as an unfriendly one." The lawyer added that the American leaker did not plan to go anywhere else soon and "does not exclude the possibility of requesting Russian citizenship". » | Tom Parfitt, Moscow | Wednesday, July 17, 2013