The new reality of Ukrainians under occupation

On the first day of the large-scale invasion, Russian forces advanced from annexed Crimea into Ukraine’s Kherson region, quickly taking control of the area. While Ukraine’s counter-offensive has since liberated the western bank of the Dnipro River, well over half a million residents on the eastern side remain under Russian occupation, where the front lines remain fiercely contested. Russia’s continued strategies to gain political control over the temporarily occupied territories have had devastating consequences for the health, culture and freedom of Ukrainians living in those territories, as well as for the larger ecosystem.

Establishing political control

In 2022, Russia urgently organized a referendum, illegal under Ukrainian law, and officials declared it so 87.05 percent of voters in the region were in favor of joining Russia. The incorporation of occupied Ukrainian territories The Russian Constitution creates a surreal legal paradox, positioning Ukraine as the ‘occupying power’ of these regions. It also provides a “justification” for Russia to do so demand “liberation” of territory currently under the control of the legitimate Ukrainian government, as part of a peace agreement.

Russia further cemented its control over the occupied territories with the 2023 regional elections, when Russia held so-called local “elections” in the occupied territories of Ukraine. A law that Russia has issued in May 2023, it facilitated the creation of extraterritorial polling stations – makeshift outdoor locations and mobile units – an innovation applied exclusively in the annexed regions.

Russia’s calculated strategy is aimed at the full political, economic and social absorption of residents into Russia and severing their ties with Ukraine. It includes imposing the Russian administrative system and appointing Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians to decision-making positions, flooding the media with propaganda, replacing the Ukrainian hryvnia with the ruble, replacing school textbooks and curricula with preferred textbooks give to the Russian hryvnia. perspective, and even a shift to Moscow’s time zone.

Filtration camps

Most disturbing, however, is the human rights situation. Systematic violations have fostered a widespread climate of fear among local residents. At the outset of the full-scale invasion, the Russians created a network of filter camps to detain the local population, targeting those deemed undesirable or a threat to Russian interests. It is a gruesome way to gain control over the physical bodies of Ukrainians.

“The temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine have turned into an open-air prison, governed by the rules of a strategic facility.” declared the National Resistance Center. To maintain and strengthen this situation, Russian invaders form separate units under the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, charged with filtering the local population. Reports of uncovered torture chambers in liberated areas, such as Kherson, provide insight into what can happen under occupation.

The National Resistance Center of Ukraine reports that in August 2024, a working group, led by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, finalized proposals for a “special infrastructure project,” the construction of “centers for the temporary detention of aliens and stateless persons.” After a series of sham election processes, these centers have been redesigned for the ‘re-education’ of individuals reluctant to obtain Russian citizenship.

Powerful passportization

The Kremlin imposed a deadline of December 31, 2024 for all citizens in the temporarily occupied territories to obtain Russian passports.

Strong passportization is reinforced by a housing certification program, with some residents facing denials for certificates, especially those without Russian passports. More than 100,000 inhabitants of occupied Kherson reportedly received housing certificates for real estate in Russia or seized areas, and many of them bought houses, mainly in occupied Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, as well as in the Russian Oblasts of Rostov and Moscow. This program is an instrument for the resettlement of Ukrainians.

The main motivation for applying for such certificates is desperation, and not pro-Russian sentiments, as many Kherson residents eventually sold their apartments acquired through the housing certificates. Meanwhile, the occupying authorities are seizing the homes of people who have fled the occupation. They want to repurpose these buildings for housing Russian military personnel and encourage specialists from Russia to move there.

Indoctrination of the youth

Peaceful demonstrations have long ceased under violent repression as authorities have suppressed dissent and suppressed freedom of expression. In this context, brainwashing children has become an important goal.

About 40,000 Ukrainian children were sent to “re-education camps” during the summer of 2024 as part of Russia’s “Useful Holidays” project, almost doubling last year’s numbers. These children have been exposed to propaganda tours in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don and Tula. Authorities are also setting up ‘patriotic’ organizationssuch as the ‘Young Guard’, a facade for the military training of teenagers.

Children are also considered potential informants about their parents’ pro-Ukrainian sentiments. Before the school year started, Russian authorities stood their ground a seminar for teachers aimed at identifying students who may express support for Ukraine. In a particularly cynical twist, the occupiers have framed this initiative as a means to tackle ‘deviant behaviour’. Educators were instructed on how to report “unfaithful children” and how to use their observations to assess parents’ attitudes.

Deteriorating healthcare and a ruined ecosystem

The health care situation in the occupied Left Bank of Kherson is deteriorating. Many clinics are understaffed as qualified doctors have fled, and those from Russia are reluctant to take permanent jobs, typically only working two- to three-week shifts. As my sources informed, the discovery of expired medications in some facilities has also prompted criminal investigations.

Yuriy Sobolevskyi, First Deputy Head of the Kherson Regional Council, claimed that one of the reasons for the deteriorating situation is corruption. Occupation authorities are increasing the number of reported medical staff to obtain funding for healthcare workers’ salaries. This discrepancy persists because many professionals have refused Russian wages, fled the area, or are not actively working, leading to significant misallocation of resources.

From 2025, Ukrainian residents of the occupied territories will be refused access to free medicines for chronic conditions such as bronchial asthma. This practice, which has already been introduced in Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast, is described by the National Resistance Center as an attempt at genocide.

Meanwhile, the water crisis is serious, especially in Henichesk and Skadovsk, where low-quality drinking water is supplied. The The Russian army is given priority for both water and medical care, leaving the needs of local residents largely unmet.

Russia continues its ecocide in the Kherson region. The aftermath of the 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka Dam resulted in widespread flooding, environmental destruction and the displacement of thousands of people, with little to no recovery measures taken. Similarly, the occupation of Askania-Nova, a national park and biosphere reserve in Kherson Oblast, underlines the ongoing ecological destruction while reports of rampant fires and the abduction and slaughter of wild animals continue to occur.

Conscription in the Russian Armed Forces

The Russian-appointed leader of the temporarily occupied Kherson Oblast, Volodymyr Saldo, has announced that people living in these areas will enlist in the Russian armed forces from October 1, 2024 until the end of the year. According to the official statementThe conscripts will serve in units of the Russian Southern Military District and will not be deployed in the so-called special military operation. However, the Russian authorities have a reputation for not keeping their promises.

Erasure of culture and identity

The suppression of Ukrainian culture and identity is alarming. Russians strive to undermine Ukrainian identity from an early age, while the removal of cultural artifacts represents a deliberate attempt to erase historical ties, and forced passporting, with its attendant consequences, is nothing less than a means of inadvertently pushing Ukrainian citizens into Russian citizens to change.

The Kremlin continues his policy of changing the ethnic landscape in the occupied territories of Ukraine by filling with Russians the spaces gradually cleared of Ukrainians. The social benefits offered to Russians moving to these regions include significant financial incentives ranging from 3 million to 5 million Russian rubles, which are mainly aimed at certain specialists who move with their families.

With little chance of liberation in sight, the consequences of Russification could ultimately be devastating.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of the Kennan Institute.