October 28, 2022

A Warm Welcome to the Russian Federation?


A Warm Welcome to the Russian Federation?
The front line in Ukraine. Red denotes Russian-held territory, blue Ukrainian land taken in counterattacks. Russia's newly-gained republics lie within that red swath. LiveUAMap

Recent reports from eastern Ukraine indicate that the Russian government has begun to crack down oppressively in regions recently added to the Russian Federation.

Earlier this month, totally illegal referenda were held in which the vast majority of voters in the occupied regions chose to join Russia. Then, on October 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order instituting martial law in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya.

Russia is currently evacuating citizens, displacing them from their homes. This is a continuation of past policy, whereby Russia has forcibly integrated Ukrainian citizens from conquered territories, giving them Russian citizenship even if they didn't ask for it.

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