A recent BBC Verify investigation highlights the scale of Russia’s property seizures in occupied Mariupol, supporting ISW’s assessment of how Russian occupation officials are using bureaucratic tools to exert control over occupied Ukraine. The investigation, published on April 17, found that Russian occupation authorities have identified at least 5,700 Mariupol homes for seizure, most of which belong to individuals who either fled or died during Russia’s 2022 siege of the city. BBC Verify noted that Russian occupation authorities use a complicated bureaucratic process to seize properties they deem “ownerless,” which requires the owner to appear in occupied Mariupol within 10 days with a Russian passport and relevant ownership documents. If no owner appears before the occupation authorities within 30 days, the occupation administration begins the process of formally registering the property as “ownerless” and transferring it to city (occupation administration) ownership after three months. BBC Verify notably found that only residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) with Russian passports are eligible to take ownership of such seized homes under the current process in Mariupol, suggesting that this scheme is likely an effort to exert pressure specifically on residents of occupied Donetsk Oblast to obtain Russian citizenship. This policy may vary between occupation regimes, however. Ukrainian Zaporizhia Oblast Head Ivan Fedorov stated on April 7 that Russian occupation authorities in occupied Zaporizhia Oblast are transferring seized property to Russian officials and military personnel as part of a campaign to repopulate occupied Ukraine with Russian citizens from Russia. BBC Verify noted that ongoing property seizures in Mariupol appear to be part of a wider Russian effort to Russify the city, and cited satellite images showing the recent construction of a new naval academy and war memorial.
The scale on which Russian authorities are seizing Ukrainian property is staggering. Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast Administration Head Oleksiy Kharchenko stated on April 19 that Russia has seized and nationalized over 114,000 properties in occupied Luhansk Oblast (likely since 2022). Russian authorities transferred over 17,000 of these properties to the regional occupation administration, 46,000 properties to municipal-level occupation administrations, and 51,000 properties to the Russian federal government. ISW recently assessed that Russian property seizures throughout occupied Ukraine are part of the wider campaign to collect personal information on residents of occupied areas, forcibly passportize Ukrainian citizens, generate profit from the occupation of Ukraine, and facilitate the relocation of Russian citizens to occupied Ukraine from Russia.
Key Takeaways:
- A recent BBC Verify investigation highlights the scale of Russia’s property seizures in occupied Mariupol, supporting ISW’s assessment of how Russian occupation officials are using bureaucratic tools to exert control over occupied Ukraine.
- Russian occupation officials continue efforts to surveil and securitize occupied Ukraine. The increased surveillance and securitization of occupied Ukraine are likely intended to encourage self-censorship and facilitate Russian occupation authorities' efforts to prosecute perceived anti-Russian sentiment.
- Russia continues to systemically violate the human rights of the residents in occupied Crimea.
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