Putin has not signed a decree that opens the door to citizenship for Africans

Truthmeter.mk was unable to find any news related to Putin issuing a decree that would open the way for Africans to obtain Russian citizenship, employment, and military service, as the post claims. We did not find such information on the official website of the Russian President either. Putin has signed decrees on several occasions to make it easier for foreigners who enlist in the Russian military to obtain Russian citizenship, but there is no separate decree just for Africans

We analyze a Facebook post that says:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree opening the door to Russian citizenship, employment, and military service for Africans.

The last news we managed to find, which is related to the Russian president signing some kind of decree, is the one about the spring mobilization of Russian soldiers.

Russia will launch a spring recruitment campaign, in which 160,000 people aged 18 to 30 will participate, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on March 31, Libertas reports.

Truthmeter.mk was unable to find news that Putin issued a decree opening the way for Africans to obtain Russian citizenship, employment, and military service, as claimed in the post we are analyzing.

We did not find such information even on the official website of the President of Russia.

Putin signed a decree in January 2024 that accelerated the path to citizenship for foreigners who enlist in the Russian military

Putin first allowed fast-track citizenship for foreigners who sign contracts with the Russian military in September 2022, shortly after announcing the partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists for Ukraine.

Those immigrants who had signed a contract for at least one year and participated in active military operations for at least six months were allowed to apply for citizenship without having to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the Russian language or having lived in the country for five consecutive years with a residence permit. Spouses and children were also eligible to apply. Authorities were required to decide on such applications within three months, according to the then-presidential decree.

Another Putin decree from May 2023 further simplified the procedure: the clause on participation in active military operations for at least six months was removed, and anyone who had signed at least a one-year contract during the Kremlin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, as well as their spouses and children, were allowed to apply in the expedited procedure.

The decree, signed in January 2024, made the path to citizenship even quicker, saying a decision on such applications should not take more than a month, instead of three, AP reported .

Therefore, Putin has signed a decree that simplifies the process of applying for and obtaining Russian citizenship for foreigners who apply to serve in the Russian military, but he has not signed a separate decree specifically for Africans.

Regarding the participation of Africans in the Russian military, the Africa Defense Forum (ADF) reported on January 7, 2025, that Russia is tricking Africans to fight war in Ukraine.

Russian propaganda often features stories of volunteers from “friendly” or “neutral” African nations joining the army to fight in Ukraine, but many of these recruits did not volunteer at all. They were sent to the front lines through deception and coercion.

Since the start of 2024, a total of 3,344 foreign nationals who went to fight in Ukraine have received Russian citizenship, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, ADF reports .

From all of the above, we can conclude that the post we are analyzing is untrue.

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