Peacemaking and Property Rights
30th November 2023
On April 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that provides a path to Russian citizenship for people living in the parts of Ukraine which are under Moscow’s control. Those who opt out face the prospect of losing their property rights, and risk being displaced from their homes.
The decree covers four Ukrainian regions that Russia has occupied: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Individuals holding ‘passports’ issued by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic will be considered foreign nationals if they fail to obtain Russian passports by July 1, 2024. Oleksandr Pavlichenko, the executive director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights, claims that those who fail to register will be removed, resulting in the loss of property ownership: “This property ownership right can be declared invalid. It can be revoked, meaning they will lose their rights to that real estate.” Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war has had a massive impact on civilian property and energy infrastructure, to say nothing of other human rights concerns in the country.