Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on April 27 that legalized the deportation of Ukrainians in occupied territory if they refuse to accept Russian citizenship. Citizens in the occupied Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia must obtain a Russian passport by July 1, 2024, or they will be deported.

The decree states that residents who “declare their desire to retain their existing citizenship” will be classified as “foreign citizens and stateless persons currently residing in the Russian Federation.”

In addition, any citizens who wish for “forcible change of the foundations of the constitutional order” in Russia and anyone considered a “threat to Russia’s national security” will have their Russian citizenship revoked and face deportation.

Resettlement: Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on April 26 that Russia has also begun “a large-scale resettlement” of Russian citizens into occupied territory. Once Russian settlers arrive, occupation administrations provide them with immediate accommodations and have programs to help them find employment and housing.

The aggressor country is trying to influence the change in the ethnic composition of the population of the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. … In this way, the enemy seeks to destroy Ukrainian statehood and the national self-identity of society in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
—Hanna Maliar

War crimes: According to Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, unlawful deportation of residents from occupied territory and the transfer of citizens into occupied territory are war crimes.

Article 8 states that the definition of a “war crime” includes:

The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory.

The Trumpet has been warning of Putin’s war atrocities in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. These warning are based on what the Bible says about Russia and its tyrannical end-time leader.

If you know the Bible, you know that war of this nature does not belong to history. In fact, prophecy tells us that conflict and suffering much worse than this are coming. I have been warning for more than two decades that Vladimir Putin would be responsible for violent conquests and that he would set in motion some astonishing and historic events. This understanding comes from studying the Bible and believing God—and He has much to say about Russia and Vladimir Putin!
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet editor in chief, “Bible Prophecy Comes Alive in Ukraine!”

Learn more: Read The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’