Collaborators in the occupied Ukrainian territories threaten residents with "harsh measures" if they refuse to give up their Russian passports

Starting in 2024, residents of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region will no longer be able to receive medical care with a Ukrainian passport, Russian-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky said on Russia-24 TV channel.

According to him, in this way the authorities hope to force people to obtain Russian citizenship as soon as possible.

"After the New Year, we will take stricter measures, because only citizens of the Russian Federation will live on our territory. <...> If a person still receives medical care with a Ukrainian passport before the New Year, after the New Year they will not receive it," Balitsky warned.

He admitted that "this is a cruel measure," but added that the authorities consider it justified. "You are either a citizen of the Russian Federation, <...> or you can choose for yourself: if you want to go to the 'Banderstat' – there is Lviv," Balitsky said.

According to the governor, about 72% of residents of the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia region received Russian passports before the "elections," although the authorities expected 80% of them to do so. Balitsky assured that most people are simply "lazy" and therefore delay the process of obtaining new citizenship.

There are also people who need to be checked by the special services, for example, those who previously participated in the ATO. Balitsky called Ukrainians who delay obtaining a Russian passport for other reasons "waiting".

"There are 7-10 percent of such 'waiters', just specific ones. We don't rush them too much either, because they save us money," he added.

In August, it became known that the authorities of the occupied territories are already using blackmail against residents who do not have a Russian passport. For example, the Russian-appointed head of the village of Lazurne in Kherson Oblast, Oleksandr Dudka, announced the termination of medical care for such people. He noted that Ukrainians are considered "foreigners" and that medicines are purchased at the expense of the Russian budget, so such people cannot claim treatment.

"First of all, this concerns insulin users who have already experienced what it is like to be a citizen of another country. The same will apply to the distribution of humanitarian aid and other issues," Dudka warned and threatened residents without Russian passports with criminal liability.

At the same time, Kyiv has repeatedly stated that Ukrainians in the occupied territories can change their passports if it avoids danger to their lives.