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.



Trudeau Says He Will Step Down after New Liberal Party Leader Named

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Trudeau Says He Will Step Down after New Liberal Party Leader Named

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberals after nine years in office but will stay on in his post until the party chooses a replacement.

Trudeau, under heavy pressure from Liberal legislators to quit amid polls showing the party will be crushed at the next election, said at a news conference that parliament would be suspended until March 24.

That means an election is unlikely to be held before May and Trudeau will still be prime minister when US President-elect Donald Trump - who has threatened tariffs that would cripple Canada's economy - takes office on Jan. 20.

"This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election," Trudeau said.

Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada's longest-serving prime ministers.

But his popularity started dipping two years ago amid public anger over high prices and a housing shortage, and his fortunes never recovered.

Polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October, regardless of who the leader is.

Parliament was due to resume on Jan. 27 and opposition parties had vowed to bring down the government as soon as they could, most likely at the end of March. But if parliament does not return until March 24, the earliest they could present a non-confidence motion would be some time in May.

Trudeau said he had asked Canada's Governor General, the representative of King Charles in the country, to prorogue parliament and she had granted that request.

Trudeau had until recently been able to fend off Liberal legislators worried about the poor showing in polls and the loss of safe seats in two special elections last year.

But calls for him to step aside have soared since last month, when he tried to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of his closest cabinet allies, after she pushed back against his proposals for more spending.

Freeland quit instead and penned a letter accusing Trudeau of "political gimmicks" rather than focusing on what was best for the country.

"Removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal Party should also decrease the level of polarization that we're seeing right now in the House and in Canadian politics," Trudeau said.

The Conservatives are led by Pierre Poilievre, a career politician who rose to prominence in early 2022 when he supported truck drivers who took over the center of Ottawa as part of a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.