REUTERS/Gleb GaranichAMSTERDAM, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territory are being forced to assume Russian citizenship or face harsh retaliation, including possible deportation or detention, U.S.-backed research published on Wednesday said.
A series of decrees signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin compel Ukrainians to get Russian passports, in violation of international humanitarian law, the report said.
Ukrainians in occupied territory 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.
"What is concerning here is that it represents, basically, a violation of the Hague and Geneva Conventions," said Executive Director Nathaniel Raymond of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health.
The report was released as part of the Conflict Observatory program, with the support of the U.S. State Department and conducted by research partner the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab.
Persons:
Gleb Garanich AMSTERDAM, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Mishustin, Nathaniel Raymond, Raymond, Putin, Anthony Deutsch, Giles Elgood, Lisa Shumaker
Organizations:
Moscow, REUTERS, Yale University, Russian, Hague, Yale School of Public Health, Kremlin, International Criminal Court, U.S . State Department, Yale School of Public, Research, Thomson
Locations:
Mayorsk, Ukraine, Moscow, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Russia, Russian, Ukraine's Donetsk, Geneva