Russia Paves Way for Deportations from Annexed Ukrainian Regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during а meeting of the Council of Legislators under Russia's Federal Assembly in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 28, 2023. (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during а meeting of the Council of Legislators under Russia's Federal Assembly in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 28, 2023. (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via Reuters)
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Russia Paves Way for Deportations from Annexed Ukrainian Regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during а meeting of the Council of Legislators under Russia's Federal Assembly in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 28, 2023. (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during а meeting of the Council of Legislators under Russia's Federal Assembly in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 28, 2023. (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that gives people living in parts of Ukraine under Moscow's control a path to Russian citizenship, but means those who decline or who do not legalize their status could be deported.

The decree, which was reported by Russian news agencies on Friday, covers four Ukrainian regions that Russia has unilaterally claimed as its own and partially controls: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Kyiv says it will retake all four areas and has accused Moscow of trying to browbeat its citizens into accepting Russian citizenship.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar this week accused Russia of trying to change what she called "the ethnic make-up" of occupied territory by bringing in settlers from remote parts of Russia while deporting people suspected of being pro-Ukrainian.

The decree sets out ways that Ukrainian citizens or those holding passports issued by Russia-backed breakaway republics, and who live in the four regions, can start the process of becoming Russian citizens or legalize their status with the Russian authorities.

But it also says that anyone who does not take such action by July 1, 2024, will be regarded as a foreign citizen, something that will leave them at risk of being deported from territory that Moscow considers part of Russia.

The decree also allows the deportation of people from the four regions who are deemed a threat to national security or take part in unauthorized meetings.

Specifically, the decree singles out for potential deportation people who favor "the violent change" of Russia's constitutional order or who finance or plan terrorist attacks.



France Holds Rare Defense Cabinet Meeting over Iran as Tensions with US Mount

Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
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France Holds Rare Defense Cabinet Meeting over Iran as Tensions with US Mount

Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

French President Emmanuel Macron was convening key ministers and experts on Wednesday to discuss Iran, including its nuclear program, amid growing tensions between Tehran and US President Donald Trump, three diplomatic sources said, Reuters reported.

Such a cabinet meeting dedicated to a specific subject is rare and highlights mounting concern among Washington's European allies that the United States and Israel could launch airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities unless there is a quick negotiated deal on its nuclear program.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, amid a US bombing campaign against the Houthis who control much of Yemen and are supported by Iran.

A senior European official said European strategists were asking themselves whether the campaign could be a precursor to a US strike on Iran in the coming months.

Trump, who has urged Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to engage immediately in negotiations, threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if it did not come to an agreement over its nuclear program, which Western countries say amounts to weapons development.

The foreign minister of Iran's direct adversary Israel will be in Paris on Thursday. Diplomatic sources said ministers from France, Britain and Germany were hoping to discuss the Iran dossier with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio when they convene in Brussels for a NATO ministerial meeting this week.

Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.

Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal's limits on uranium enrichment, producing stocks at a high level of fissile purity, well above what Western powers say is justifiable for a civilian energy program and close to that required for nuclear warheads. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon.

France, Britain and Germany have sought in recent months to raise pressure on Iran in a bid to coax it back into discussions over its nuclear program.

They have held several rounds of talks with Iran including at technical level last week, to try to lay the groundwork for some form of agreement.

But the Trump administration has focused initially on a campaign of "maximum pressure", and the Europeans have found coordination complicated, diplomats say.

The European powers had hoped to convince Iran to begin negotiating new restrictions on its nuclear activities with a view to having a deal by August at the latest.

That would give enough time to set new limits for Iran's program and lift sanctions before the 2015 accord expires in October 2025.