Accordingly, they face up to 15 years in prison. This is how the Russian occupiers intimidate the residents in order to prevent them from going to the controlled territories of Ukraine.

The Mariupol City Council reports: "Ukraine is waiting for all its citizens who live in the temporarily occupied Mariupol. They are ready to support and provide maximum assistance in the controlled territories. For this help, there was created a network of "Ya Mariupol" centers. Here you can get humanitarian, legal, psychological, and social assistance."

Russian propaganda has been spreading such theses since at least August 2022, manipulating a sensitive issue. Most of the people in the temporarily occupied territories live on the edge of survival and are forced to receive Russian humanitarian aid, dismantle rubble and rebuild houses for receiving food.

Ukrainian law does not provide for responsibility for receiving Russian humanitarian aid in the occupied territories. Such statements are made in order to intimidate the residents of the temporarily occupied territories, allegedly after the de-occupation, the residents will face criminal liability.