Kyiv, Ukraine – Taras always resented his dark-red Russian passport – and was happy to replace it with a blue Ukrainian one. But it was a process that took him 11 years and two trials.He is one of more than 150,000 Russian nationals living in Ukraine as the war with Russia continues. Most are relatives or spouses of Ukrainians or were born in Ukraine. Some are dissidents seeking refuge or volunteers with the Ukrainian army.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThey go through several rounds of bureaucratic quagmire to have their residence permits renewed or get Ukrainian citizenship, and face mistreatment anywhere they have to show the colour of their passport.“If you have a red passport here, you’re not human, even if you have Ukrainian blood, speak Ukrainian and donate to the armed forces of Ukraine,” the bespectacled 45-year-old graphic designer told Al Jazeera.Taras asked to withhold his last name that he shares with his siblings living in Russia, because he does not want them to “get into more trouble than they already are” because of their Ukrainian background.Born in the city of Poltava in Soviet Ukraine in 1980, Taras, the son of a colonel, grew up 500km (310 miles) to the east, in what is now the western Russian city of Bryansk; his father headed a tank regiment.He spent his summers in a village outside Poltava, where his grandparents taug …
