Residents of occupied areas who hold Russian passports to be called up for military service

That’s according to Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, Ukrinform reports.

"The General Staff has confirmed something of what we warned residents of the temporarily occupied Melitopol district: holders of Russian passports will be drafted into the Russian army," Fedorov wrote.

With reference to the General Staff, he added that a draft law is being prepared in Russia, which provides for the legalization of conscription for military service starting the spring of 2023 for citizens of Ukraine who reside in temporarily captured, occupied territories and have obtained a Russian passport.

"And all those statements by Gauleiter Balytskyi claiming that residents of the temporarily occupied territories will not be deployed to fight for at least 5 years turned out to be yet another lie," the mayor wrote.

Earlier it was reported that the invaders were forcing locals to dig trenches in the temporarily occupied territories.