Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said people who were forced to obtain a passport of the aggressor country in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in order to save their lives, as well as to leave the occupied territories, are victims of Russia's crimes.

"Let me inform you that forced passportization in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is recognized as a gross violation of international law, in particular, in accordance with Article 45 of the Regulations on the laws and customs of war on land, which is an annex to the Fourth Hague Convention of October 18, 1907," Lubinets said in the Telegram channel on Wednesday.

In addition, according to Article 25 of the Constitution of Ukraine, everyone has the right to change citizenship, which excludes the possibility of recognizing the result of a forced change of citizenship. This right cannot be waived in any case and in relation to any country.

The ombudsman said "consequently, the illegal actions of the occupying authorities regarding forced automatic passportization are inhumane and contrary to the principles of treatment of the civilian population in the temporarily occupied territories, in particular, established by the provision of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Lubinets said obtaining a Russian passport is by no means a reason for losing Ukrainian citizenship.

This position of Ukraine is based on the provisions of Article 4 of the European Convention on Citizenship regarding the principles of avoiding the phenomenon of statelessness and the inadmissibility of groundless deprivation of citizenship.

"Therefore, in most cases, obtaining a pseudo-passport of an aggressor country is a forced step when it comes to preserving the life and health of an individual or family members and is used to leave the temporarily occupied territory through third countries," Lubinets said.

He said persons who were forced to obtain a Russian passport under such circumstances "cannot be considered criminals, but rather victims of a crime."