The Russians are actively changing the ethnic composition of the population in the occupied Ukrainian territories. As reported by the Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, the process has intensified in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
“At first, they impoverished the residents. Now, through the occupational employment center, they offer the unemployed to work in Russia. Instead, they bring ‘tourists’ from the Russian Federation,” wrote Fedorov.
Fifty percent of Melitopol’s population is already non-local. Before the full-scale invasion, the city had a population of 150,000 people. Over the two years of occupation, about 90,000 have left for other cities in Ukraine and abroad, said Fedorov.
“In Melitopol, only 60,000 local residents remain, but approximately the same number has arrived from the hostile country,” added the mayor.
The Russians seek to expedite the integration of the temporarily occupied territories in the south and east of Ukraine into a unified political and legal system within Russia, according to the National Resistance Center (NRC).
“However, at present, occupiers are facing significant challenges in recruiting a qualified workforce due to the lack of the necessary number of collaborators,” emphasized the NRC.
Meanwhile, from Ukrainians who have not left the occupied territories, Russians demand testimony against Ukraine. Occupiers claim to be gathering evidence of crimes committed by Kyiv and promise to provide ‘assistance’ in exchange for obtaining such information,” reported the NRC.
“Russia is synonymous with cynicism. On February 24, 2022, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin declared war. Hundreds of thousands of people killed, hundreds of thousands of buildings destroyed, and millions of refugees – Russia now tries to shift the blame onto its victims. Yes, on the temporarily occupied territories in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the occupation administration promises to assist those ‘affected by Ukrainian aggression,'” says the NRC.
The sole condition for receiving funds is to testify against Ukraine, which would serve as undoubtedly fake evidence of Russians’ propaganda claim that Ukraine allegedly attacked the region and is shelling its own civilian population, explained the NRC.
“In other words, on the territory recognized by the entire world as Ukraine’s, Russians speak of ‘Ukrainian aggression,'” states the NRC.
Also, Russia continues to suppress resistance among the Ukrainian population and prepares for repression. Occupiers have created a database of over 100,000 residents of the temporarily occupied territories whom they suspect of ‘disloyalty.’
The database is managed by GRU and FSB operatives with the support of local occupation administrations. Currently, it contains information on over 100,000 residents. In the future, occupiers will have access to it at checkpoints.
“In essence, Russia turns the captured lands into an open-air prison where being Ukrainian is a crime. This is a deliberate policy of the Kremlin, which seeks to eradicate us on our native land,” concluded the NRC.
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