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| President Zelenskiy Revokes Citizenship of Former Politicians in Effort to Purge Ukraine of Pro-Russian Influences |
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's decision to revoke the citizenship of several former influential politicians is a significant move towards purging Ukraine of pro-Russian influences. The country has taken similar measures since the start of the Russian invasion last year and will likely continue to do so to protect its sovereignty.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine has taken a significant step towards purging his country of pro-Russian influences by revoking the citizenship of several former influential politicians. In a nightly video address, the president announced that he had signed the relevant documents to "protect and cleanse" Ukraine from individuals who have sided with the aggressor, referring to Russia.
Although President Zelenskiy did not reveal the names of the individuals affected by this decision,
Ukrainian state media reported that the list includes several high-ranking politicians from the office of former President Viktor Yanukovych, who served as Ukraine's pro-Russian leader from 2010 until he was ousted from office in 2014.
The list reportedly includes former Minister of Education and Science, Dmytro Tabachnyk, former Deputy Prime Minister and Head of Yanukovych's administration Andriy Klyuyev, and former Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, according to the RBC-Ukraine news agency. All of these individuals had dual Russian citizenship, a fact that the president emphasized in his address.
This move by President Zelenskiy is part of a wider effort by Ukraine to take action against those who are seen as a threat to the country's sovereignty. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year, the country has stripped several individuals of their Ukrainian citizenship and has imposed sanctions on hundreds of Russian and Belarusian individuals and firms.
The decision to revoke the citizenship of these former politicians has been met with mixed reactions, with some praising the move as a necessary step towards ensuring the country's security, while others have criticized it as a violation of their basic human rights.