The Kremlin uses passportization as a lever of political influence on the temporarily occupied regions of Georgia, demonstrating that the level of support directly depends on the loyalty of local elites. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, according to UNN.
Details
According to intelligence, on February 14, 2026, a point for issuing internal passports of the Russian Federation was opened in Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) at the base of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs center. During the opening, the so-called "prime minister" D. Tadtaev and Russian ambassador M. Kulakhmetov spoke about "allied relations" and "common history," which traditionally accompanies Moscow's expansion of control over the region.
At the same time, the Kremlin's policy towards Abkhazia has become significantly tougher. On February 6, the work of points for issuing Russian passports and driver's licenses was stopped in Sukhumi. From now on, documents can only be processed on the territory of the Russian Federation with the payment of a state fee of 4-6 thousand rubles, which creates additional financial and logistical barriers for the local population.
The formal reason for this decision was the statements of individual Abkhaz deputies regarding the legality of the activities of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs employees, although the local "parliament" did not officially adopt any decisions.
Intelligence notes that the contrast is particularly indicative given the scale of passportization: about 190 thousand residents of Abkhazia out of approximately 244 thousand people have Russian documents. The issuance points operated from April 2025 on the basis of an agreement on "dual citizenship" and issued passports free of charge.
On February 13, the so-called "president" of Abkhazia B. Gunba was forced to publicly appeal to the Kremlin with a request to resume the procedure, admitting that its suspension casts doubt on the legitimacy of already issued documents and related payments.
The Foreign Intelligence Service notes that the synchronous opening of a passport point in Tskhinvali and the blocking of a similar mechanism in Abkhazia indicates the Kremlin's transition to a selective control model, where administrative support depends solely on the degree of political obedience of local elites.
Recall
According to intelligence, the Kremlin plans to create an interdepartmental group to promote "traditional values" in the Russian information space. This includes banning films that discredit these values and introducing new subjects in schools.