Kherson resident facilitated the forced issuance of Russian passports

Under the procedural supervision of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, a resident of the region was served in absentia a notice of suspicion of holding a position in an illegal law enforcement agency established in the occupied territories.

This was reported by the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The investigation found that the suspect voluntarily cooperated with the occupation authorities, performing functions in a structure created by the aggressor to support the occupation regime.

In July 2022, the 39-year-old suspect voluntarily took up the position of the so-called 'acting specialist of the passport and visa service department' in the illegal 'Department of Public Security of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kherson Region'.

In this position, the collaborator actively promoted the policy of Russian passportization in the occupied territory. The man was engaged in organizing and issuing 'address certificates' to residents of the Kherson region, which were necessary for further obtaining a Russian passport. His duties included translating Ukrainian-type documents into Russian and conducting the procedure for identifying persons who had lost their documents.

Earlier, the occupation administration intensified its work on forced passportization in the temporarily occupied Kherson region. It involved young people in these actions. According to the activists of the Yellow Ribbon Movement, as part of their extracurricular activities, students are offered a project to get extra points.

"We need to conduct a sociological survey of 100 people with the following questions: Do you have a Russian passport? Why not? What would it take for you to get one?" the movement said in a statement.

Obviously, this information is not just for statistics. The occupiers are using students as a tool for data collection and manipulation, trying to create the appearance of voluntary passportization.

Activists also note that Russian propagandists promise one-time payments and social guarantees. However, only Russian passport holders can receive them.

Катерина Глушко