Russia continues to replace Ukrainians with imported Russians in occupied territories – ISW

Activity in Russian-occupied Areas (Russian objective: consolidate administrative control of occupied and annexed areas; forcibly integrate Ukrainian civilians into Russian sociocultural, economic, military, and governance systems) Russian officials are continuing efforts to stimulate demographic change in occupied areas of Ukraine by deporting Ukrainian residents and replacing them with imported Russian soldiers and citizens. The Ukrainian Resistance Center reported on November 24 that Russia is trying to bring about demographic transitions in occupied areas and cited an example that Russian students are promised free education on the condition that they complete their training in institutions in occupied territories. Ukrainian Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, stated on November 25 that Donetsk People’s Republic Head (DNR) Denis Pushilin announced all apartment buildings in Mariupol are subject to evacuation and resettlement with Russian citizens and occupation-affiliated elements. Other Ukrainian sources continued to report on the forced deportation of Ukrainian residents from occupied areas as part of an extended depopulation scheme. A Dagestani state television and radio broadcasting company stated that Dagestan has received 50 Ukrainian children from Donbas for “rehabilitation,” which as ISW has previously reported is a guise used by Russian officials to justify the massive, forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russian territory. Read also:

• Russia continues forced deportations of Ukrainians that “likely amount to a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign” – ISW
• Russia corners Ukrainians in filtration and deportation
• Forced conscription: how Russia wipes out the male population of occupied Donbas
• Russia plans to change demographics of occupied Ukraine territories – Resistance center
• US calls on Russia to halt its filtration operations and forced deportations of Ukrainians
• Russian war crimes: “denazifying” Ukrainians through deportation, torture, detention and filtration camps
• Russians relocated to occupied Crimea now make up one-third of the population, experts say (2021)
• Russia’s replacement of population in occupied Crimea violates Geneva Convention – UN report (2019)