- Russian authorities are reportedly only giving Ukrainians certain medicines if they get citizenship.
- The report says Ukrainians in occupied territories are choosing between Russian citizenship and forgoing care.
Russian occupation authorities are withholding Ukrainians' access to certain medicines and only allowing them to receive treatment if they accept Russian citizenship, according to a new report.
The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report, published Wednesday, said Russia's forces in certain occupied areas of Ukraine "have made access to certain medicine and medical care conditional on accepting Russian citizenship."
"These restrictions force vulnerable persons (including residents who are elderly, have chronic medical problems, have disabilities, or have low income) to decide between accepting Russian citizenship or forgoing medical care, especially when they are unable to leave the occupied areas," the report wrote, also citing cases in Zaporizhzhya, Melitopol, and the Kherson oblasts where Ukrainian residents have signed up for compulsory health care policies in recent months.
If Ukrainians refuse Russian citizenship, the denial of care "could cause death," the report added.
This is the latest effort by Russian officials to force the integration of Ukrainian residents in occupied areas. In late April, UK intel said Russia was giving Ukrainians a choice between receiving a Russian passport or getting "deported" and having their property seized.
About two months have passed since Ukraine launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces. Extensive and fortified Russian defensive lines, as well as small territorial regains, have left Kyiv's troops in a slow and steady grind, particularly along the front lines in the east and south.