During the occupation of Crimea, russia has settled many of its citizens on the peninsula. Find out more about the fate of russian citizens after the return of the peninsula to Ukraine

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The temporarily occupied Crimea may soon return to Ukraine. According to Ukrainian intelligence forecasts, this should happen as early as 2023 after the Ukrainian army launches its counteroffensive. 

At the same time, another question arises: what will happen to the russians who have settled on the peninsula? Let's find out.

It is worth noting that the issue of de-occupation of Crimea has been on the agenda for a long time. But recent weeks show that the day of liberation of the peninsula is getting closer and closer. Mysterious fires are occurring more frequently at strategic facilities in Crimea, unidentified drones are constantly spotted in the skies over the peninsula, and Ukrainian troops are fully prepared to launch a counteroffensive. 

Russian citizens are urged to leave Crimea while there is still an opportunity

It is not the first time that the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has appealed to russians to leave Crimea while the option exists.

This call is really important and should be taken seriously for several reasons. The first is that Crimea is crucial in Russia's war against Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are unlikely to stop until they liberate the occupied peninsula.

The second reason is that, according to a representative of Ukrainian intelligence, they will try to cut Crimea off from russia so that moscow cannot use the peninsula for military purposes and, in the end, make a so-called "Crimean gesture of goodwill".

That is, judging by these statements, the russians were given the opportunity to leave Crimea on their own before Ukrainian troops entered.

But what if the russians do not heed the calls and decide to stay on the peninsula?

How will Ukraine expel russians from Crimea?

Tamila Tasheva, the representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, notes that russians who illegally reside on the temporarily occupied peninsula will be deported individually, not collectively.

"All russian citizens are actually colonizers, because they came to the occupied territory to change its demographic composition. They are accomplices in the crime. And we will expel them if they do not leave before the territory is liberated. International law does not provide for collective expulsion - collective deportation is prohibited," explains Tasheva. - So individual decisions will be applied to them".

As for the Ukrainians who were forcibly given russian passports in Crimea, Ukraine continues to consider them its citizens.

At the same time, after the russians leave Crimea, they will be able to apply for a residence permit at the migration authorities. Some people can get a permanent residence permit, such as indigenous peoples who are repatriates. These are also those who started the procedure for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship in 2014, but did not have time to complete it. And there are thousands of them now.

One cannot envy the aggressor's accomplices. According to Ukrainian law, collaborators who have been working for russia or helping the aggressor all this time will be prosecuted under Art: 

• 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "High Treason": it concerns people who will try to organize elections in the occupied territories or to lead these regions themselves after they are captured by russian troops.

In the most severe version of the punishment, such persons face life imprisonment.

We remind you! Before the tourist season in Crimea, prices for vacations have plummeted, as russians are in no hurry to travel to the peninsula amid reports of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. However, the so-called Crimean authorities keep trying to lure russian citizens to the peninsula. We will tell you how this is happening here.

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