CrimeaSOS: state should strengthen connection with the residents of the TOT, in particular through issuance of documents 

This was stated by the Head of the Board of CrimeaSOS, Oleksii Tilnenko, during a speech at the “Crimea” discussion panel. The discussion took place during the media marathon “10 years of russian aggression in Ukraine. The path to justice”.

Issuance of documents was and remains one of the few tools for obtaining information about our citizens on the TOT, says the head of CrimeaSOS. However, the state apparatus often ignores this issue. “There were cases when children at the age of 16 came to mainland Ukraine in order to receive a passport. Administrative protocols were drawn up against them”, – added Oleksii.  

There are two aspects that influenced the passporting of Crimeans during the last 10 years: the russian occupation policy and the lack of necessary actions on the part of the Ukrainian authorities.  

As for the first aspect: ensuring a sufficient standard of living, services and education in the temporarily occupied territory depends on the presence of a russian passport. A person cannot even get a job without this document. “Companies that hire citizens without a russian passport pay a fine, sometimes up to a quarter of a million”, — says Oleksii.  
Children became a vulnerable link in this process. The opportunity to obtain Ukrainian citizenship was actually taken away from them. Educational, social and medical institutions, where children were living, could deprive them of the right to obtain a Ukrainian passport. And the heads of these organizations could write statements to renounce Ukrainian citizenship of these children.  

During the 10 years of russian aggression, the Ukrainian authorities reacted slowly to such actions of the russians. “On the peninsula, it is easier to get a russian passport than any other document. At the same time, in order to obtain Ukrainian passport, one had to come to the territory controlled by Ukraine, stand in line, wait for a passport to be made, and only then go home”, – Tilnenko noted.  

Nowadays, the state better understands that its main value is people, regardless of where they live. Ukraine should only strengthen the connection with the residents of the occupied territories. 

You can find the recording of the discussion panel on the YouTube channel Ukrinform TV. 
We shall remind you that despite the necessity of obtaining a russian passport at the TOT, it may result in illegal conscription of inhabitants of the peninsula. This was reported by CrimeaSOS analyst Yevhenii Yaroshenko in a comment to the  Central Asia News publication. These actions contain two war crimes at once – forced conscription into the ranks of the occupying army and involvement of citizens in hostilities against their own state.