Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, millions of people have been forced to flee their homes, while others have found themselves trapped under Russian occupation.
Destruction, fear, and repression define the daily lives of those who remain. Living under occupation means not only the deprivation of fundamental freedoms but also the gradual erasure of Ukrainian identity.
In Russian-controlled territories—Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia—residents are under constant surveillance. Patrols roam the streets, checking identities and hunting down those who refuse to accept Russian rule. Repression is systematic: arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and torture. Some are killed, while others are exchanged after months of captivity.
The occupation also brings total ideological control. In Mariupol, people are subjected to DNA tests: a family tree deemed “too Ukrainian” can be enough to prevent someone from returning home. The very fabric of cities has changed—European products have disappeared from stores, replaced by Russian goods, while propaganda floods public spaces.
Mariupol, once a city of 430,000 people, has been profoundly transformed by the occupation. Eighty percent of its population was forced to flee, while the few thousand who remain live under constant control, alongside Russian citizens brought in as part of a deliberate demographic replacement strategy.
Daily life is also marked by the absence of essential services—dysfunctional public transport, uncollected waste, damaged pipelines. Economic activity has nearly ground to a halt, except for construction projects. Access to healthcare has become a luxury, with a severe lack of medicine and medical personnel.
The pressure does not come from the occupation forces alone. The population itself is encouraged to inform on one another—denouncing a neighbor for expressing pro-Ukrainian views or refusing to adhere to Russian propaganda has become a tool for spreading fear. This constant threat is compounded by the risk of being forcibly conscripted into the Russian army.
The occupation has also imposed new administrative requirements: obtaining a Russian passport has become essential for working, accessing healthcare, or even moving freely.
What is happening in these territories goes beyond military occupation. It is a systematic attempt to erase Ukraine—by destroying its culture, its history, and its identity.
Photo: Russian soldiers in Kherson. Anastasiia / Euronews
