'New citizens' of Russia to be tested for loyalty: What Ukrainians in occupied territories face
Photo: in addition to Ukrainians, the new measures also apply to migrants from Central Asia (szru.gov.ua)
"New citizens" of Russia must prove "100% loyalty" to the values and laws of the Federation. Otherwise, they will have their Russian passport revoked, according to Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.
In particular, the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia wants to check "new citizens" for their full acceptance of the country’s cultural and historical traditions, values, and laws.
Initially, the new rules are planned to be applied to residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine who have obtained Russian passports, and later to migrants from Central Asia.
The Kremlin believes that among the several million "new citizens" there are those who "pose a threat to national security." Work to identify such individuals is already underway.
Russia also plans to introduce paid schooling for the children of migrants and to limit the number of free attempts to pass the Russian language exam to three. A corresponding bill has been submitted to the State Duma. Lawmakers explain the initiative by the growing number of foreign children.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported on the expansion of the number of articles in the Russian Criminal Code under which acquired citizenship may be revoked.
Specifically, the existing list has been supplemented with serious crimes, as well as "crimes motivated by extremism" or "justification of terrorism and sabotage activities."
In addition, by June 30, 2026, Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, under Putin’s orders, is to create a Digital Profile of a Foreign Citizen — a resource that will contain data on foreigners entering or leaving Russia.
RBC-Ukraine also wrote that in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the revocation of acquired citizenship for "discrediting the Russian army" and engaging in actions that threaten the country.
