Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has deported four pro-Russian MPs. “If people’s representatives decide not to serve the Ukrainian people, but the murderers who have come to Ukraine, then our steps will be appropriate,” the 44-year-old said in his daily video address on Tuesday.
According to the constitution, the displacement was based on information from the SBU secret service and the migration service, Zelenskyj said. “Our services are working,” the president added.
All four delegates would be in Russia
The Ukrainian passport was revoked from MP Viktor Medvechuk, who came to Russia in September as part of a prisoner exchange. The other three affected are also suspected in the neighboring state. All four represented the Opposition Platform – For Life party, which was banned after the February 2022 Russian invasion. All four MPs are believed to have Russian citizenship.
Dual nationality makes displacement possible
It was common practice under Zelenskyi’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko and in the Soviet Union to deprive politically undesirables of their citizenship. In fact, Article 25 of the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits the deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship. However, the law on citizenship does not provide for having a second citizenship. Conversely, this means that anyone who accepts any other citizenship may lose Ukrainian citizenship. Under the constitution, loss of citizenship can serve as grounds for deprivation of parliamentary mandate.
Shortly before the new year, according to unconfirmed media reports, Selenskyj had sent abroad 13 senior clergymen of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which had long been associated with Moscow. According to reports, Zelenskyi revoked the Ukrainian passports of his sponsor Ihor Kolomoiskyi and a dozen other Ukrainians last year.
Source: Krone
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