Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine must leave by Sept. 10 or “regulate their legal status,” according to an official decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and published on March 20.
“Citizens of Ukraine who are in the Russian Federation and do not have legal grounds for staying (residing) in the Russian Federation are required to leave the Russian Federation on their own or regulate their legal status in the Russian Federation by Sept. 10, 2025,” the decree reads.
Russia illegally declared annexation of fully occupied Crimea in 2014 and partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in 2022, de facto treating Ukrainian sovereign territory as its own regions.
The decree comes amid Moscow’s efforts to Russify the conquered territories by pressuring Ukrainian citizens into accepting Russian passports or forcing them out while trying to attract Russian citizens to move in.
The document says the order will not concern Ukrainian citizens who will register their status with the Russian Interior Ministry by Sept. 10.
The decree further ordered all “foreign citizens and stateless persons” residing in the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts to undergo medical checks on drug use and infectious diseases by June 10.
