Moscow says babies born in occupied Kherson will automatically get Russian citizenship.

As Ukrainian forces continued counterattacks to wrench back land in southern Ukraine, Russia took another step in its efforts to deepen its hold on the region: the proxy government in the Kherson region announced on Friday that all newborns would be granted Russian citizenship.

“Children born after 24 February in the Kherson region will automatically receive citizenship of the Russian Federation,” Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Moscow-imposed regional administration, told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, referring to the date of Russia’s invasion. Orphans will also be registered as Russian citizens, he said.

The move comes after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to speed up the citizenship process for Ukrainians living in occupied territories and local authorities began issuing Russian passports to local residents. Read more

@nytimes