The law stipulates that citizens of Ukraine living in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, for the period of quarantine, or for the period of blocking the activities of entry-exit checkpoints, are not subject to administrative penalties and sanctions for administrative offenses, related to the violation of the procedure for entering or leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, if such violations occurred on humanitarian grounds determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

The adoption of this Law is extremely important for the citizens of Ukraine residing on the temporarily occupied territories. Since March 2020, the occupying state on a permanent basis prevents the departure of citizens of Ukraine from the temporarily occupied territory through the checkpoints, in particular, under the pretext of counteracting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In such a situation, the only possible way for Ukrainian citizens to leave the temporarily occupied territory was through the checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Russian border. However, according to the law, this is a violation of the order of entry or exit from the temporarily occupied territory, for which there is an administrative liability in the form of a fine of 1.7 thousand to 5.1 thousand UAH. (Article 2042 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

Residents of the temporarily occupied territories need their visits to the controlled territory of Ukraine for various reasons, primarily related to the need to receive medical care, pension benefits, documents or education. But due to the actions of the occupying state, tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens, having no other choice. They are forced to leave the temporarily occupied territory in violation of Ukrainian law. The adopted Law abolishes fines and other measures of influence against citizens of Ukraine who were forced to leave the temporarily occupied territory in forced violation of the law. This is an important step to respect their rights and this will make impossible for the occupying state to achieve the goals on severing ties between the residents of the temporarily occupied territory with other regions of Ukraine!