Ukraine should protect citizens living in temporarily occupied territories – SBU chief

Ukraine should develop effective mechanisms to protect and support its citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories.

Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Ivan Bakanov said this during a meeting with Heidi Grau, the new Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, and Martin Sajdik, who held this post since 2015, the SBU's press service reported.

“There are a lot of people in the temporarily occupied territories who, despite the actions of the invaders, do not give up hope for a united Ukraine and consider themselves Ukrainians. Therefore, we must support them and show that the state takes care of them and is grateful for their pro-Ukrainian position,” Bakanov noted.

He added that this issue was particularly important in the context of the illegal Russian "passportization" in the so-called DPR/LPR.

The SBU chief also thanked the representatives of the Trilateral Contact Group for their work.

In addition, the parties discussed the possibility of deepening further cooperation with the OSCE to establish peace in eastern Ukraine as soon as possible.

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