The decree adopted in the Russian Federation regarding "certain categories of foreign citizens" and the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for them "grossly violates the legislation of Ukraine, the norms of international law and the rights of children - citizens of Ukraine, who during the large-scale offensive of the Russian Federation were forcibly moved to the territory of the aggressor state," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has said.

"On January 4, 2024, the President of the Russian Federation signed a decree "On identifying certain categories of foreign citizens and stateless persons who have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation." The document provides that orphans and children left without parental care and citizens of Ukraine, can obtain Russian citizenship by the personal decision of the President of the Russian Federation, without taking into account all or individual requirements of federal legislation. An application for Russian citizenship can be submitted by the heads of Russian organizations in which Ukrainian children are forcibly detained," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement at its official website on Saturday.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry highlighted that "this latest "regulatory act," in addition to the goal of satisfying the demographic needs of the aggressor country at the expense of migrants..., grossly violates the legislation of Ukraine, international law and the rights of children - citizens of Ukraine, who during a large-scale offensive of the Russian Federation were forcibly transferred to the territory of the aggressor state."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reiterated that all children who are citizens of Ukraine and who were forcibly transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation under the flimsy pretext of so-called "humanitarian protection" remain citizens of Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities continue to take all possible steps to protect their legal rights and freedoms.

"The real value of this decree lies only in the fact that it will serve as further evidence of the crimes of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the forced assimilation of Ukrainian children and the attempt to deprive them of their own homeland," the ministry said.

"We call on the International Criminal Court to take into account these actions of the Russian leadership to transfer Ukrainian children from one national group to another, including by forcibly granting them Russian citizenship, which is one of the signs of genocide, and the international community to implement the ICC warrant as soon as possible to arrest Vladimir Putin, taking the necessary steps to detain him for transfer to international justice bodies," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concluded.