Even years after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, people who lived under occupation in eastern Ukraine describe daily fear, collapsing services and a steady erosion of civil life. Former residents such as Inna Vnukova recount hiding in basements, Russian patrols and a hazardous escape in March 2022; many others fled or were displaced. In the four regions Moscow says it has annexed, officials have pushed Russian passports, curricula and institutions while human rights groups report widespread detention and abuse. The result is large-scale displacement, disrupted services and deep uncertainty about whether communities can recover.
Key takeaways
- Russian forces control roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, affecting an estimated 3 million to 5 million people since the February 2022 invasion.
- By spring 2025 about 3.5 million residents in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia had been issued Russian passports, a precondition for some state services.
- Human rights monitors and Ukrainian officials report at least 16,000 civilians detained illegally in occupied areas, a figure that may undercount those held incommunicado.
- A U.N. inquiry (July 2024–June 2025) spoke to 57 formerly detained civilians; 52 reported severe beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence or other torture.
- The destruction of Mariupol, including the March 16, 2022 bombing of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater that killed nearly 600 people, remains a stark example of civilian harm.
- Vital services are failing in many towns: Sievierodonetsk’s population dropped from about 140,000 to 45,000; municipal heating networks in some cities are reported over 60% damaged or in disrepair.
- Authorities in occupied areas have added at least 12,191 apartments in Mariupol to lists of allegedly “ownerless” flats subject to expropriation in the first half of 2025.
Background
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and later asserted control over swaths of the east and south, including parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Moscow’s annexation declarations and the subsequent administrative changes have introduced Russian institutions, passports and educational materials as part of a broader effort to integrate those territories. Officials say issuing passports and providing services will stabilize life for residents, but human rights groups and many displaced people view those measures as coercive and part of a program of forced assimilation.
The occupation brought immediate security measures—checkpoints, patrols, house searches and detentions—aimed at rooting out perceived opponents of Moscow’s control. International monitors and Ukrainian agencies document filtration procedures, detention centers and targeted repression of activists, civil servants, journalists and teachers. Those practices, combined with damaged infrastructure and interrupted utilities, have produced mass departures and demographic change in many towns and cities.
Main event
Personal accounts collected from escapees and activists depict life under occupation as a mix of persistent fear and administrative pressure. Inna Vnukova and her family hid in a damp basement in Kudriashivka in March 2022, then fled under mortar fire to Starobilsk and onward through Russia to Estonia; she says the memory of being targeted for her civil-service ties remains vivid. Her husband, Oleksii, a court security officer, experienced threats and the risk of summary detention before escaping several weeks later. Similar narratives come from Nova Kakhovka, Mariupol and other towns, where residents report surprise door-to-door inspections, document checks and public pressure to accept Russian citizenship.
Human rights organizations describe a system of secret and official detention facilities where many civilians are held without charge. A U.N. report interviewing people detained between July 2024 and June 2025 found the vast majority reporting harsh mistreatment. One high-profile case cited by prosecutors involved the disappearance and death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna in 2023, a case that raised alarm about treatment of detainees in custody after her body was handed over to Ukraine in 2025 with signs of torture.
Infrastructure failures amplify everyday hardships. Cities that were heavily damaged in combat—such as Mariupol and Sievierodonetsk—face chronic shortages of heat, water and medical personnel. In some towns, ambulance services are minimal and doctors rotate in from Russian regions. Local residents report long queues for water deliveries and frequent, prolonged power or heat outages in winter months. Authorities in occupied areas have pushed construction projects that favor new arrivals, while many prewar residents lack access to new housing.
Analysis & implications
The occupation’s combination of coercive policing, administrative assimilation and selective provision of services is reshaping who can stay and who must leave. Issuing passports and requiring them for services creates an incentive structure that rewards cooperation with occupying authorities, pressuring residents to accept new documentation or risk exclusion from healthcare and benefits. Over time this can produce demographic shifts: those who accept integration may remain, while the most active civic actors, critics and many young people are likeliest to depart.
Detention practices and the use of filtration procedures have immediate human-rights and long-term legal consequences. Large-scale, documented abuses strengthen arguments for international accountability, yet they also complicate humanitarian access and evidence collection when detainees are held incommunicado or transferred across borders. The persistence of torture allegations—if corroborated—would influence international courts, sanctions regimes and future restitution claims for victims.
The degradation of public services deepens humanitarian need and raises stabilization costs. Rebuilding water, heating and health networks will require sustained funding, qualified personnel and security guarantees—conditions that are difficult to deliver in contested or tightly controlled areas. Meanwhile, incentives for Russian citizens to relocate to these regions, coupled with property expropriations, may entrench demographic change and make post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation harder.
Comparison & data
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Territory under Russian control | ~20% of Ukraine | Reported estimates |
| People affected in occupied areas | 3–5 million | Reported estimates |
| Russian passports issued (by spring 2025) | ~3.5 million | Administrative data cited in reporting |
| Civilians reportedly detained illegally | ~16,000 (minimum) | Ukrainian officials |
| U.N. interviews of detained civilians | 57 interviewed; 52 reported torture (Jul 2024–Jun 2025) | U.N. human rights reporting |
| Mariupol theater fatalities (Mar 16, 2022) | Close to 600 | AP investigation |
| Apartments listed as “ownerless” (Mariupol, H1 2025) | 12,191 | Local administrative lists |
| Sievierodonetsk population (prewar vs now) | ~140,000 → ~45,000 | Local reporting |
The table aggregates reported figures from international monitors, Ukrainian officials and on-the-ground reporting. Numbers vary across sources and are sensitive to new developments; displacement and documentation campaigns are ongoing and can change the metrics over short timescales. Still, the data together illustrate a pattern of population loss, widespread issuance of Russian documentation and persistent allegations of detention and abuse.
Reactions & quotes
“Even though a significant number of socially active people have already been detained, Russian special services continue to identify disloyal Ukrainians and detain people.”
Mykhailo Savva, Center for Civil Liberties (NGO)
“Everyone knows that if you end up in the basement, your life is worth nothing.”
Oleksandra Matviichuk, Center for Civil Liberties (NGO)
“I know how difficult it is now for the residents of the liberated cities and towns. There are many truly pressing, urgent problems.”
Vladimir Putin (Russian president, public statement)
The quotes above come from human-rights activists and an official Russian statement; together they reflect both accusations of repression and Kremlin acknowledgment of service shortfalls. Activists warn the public admission of needs has not stopped coercive tactics, while officials frame assistance programs as reconstruction efforts.
Unconfirmed
- The true total of civilians detained without charge may be substantially higher than the 16,000 figure cited; many detainees are reported held incommunicado and excluded from official tallies.
- Some reports allege broader patterns of organ removal or mutilation beyond documented cases; those claims remain subject to ongoing forensic and legal verification.
- The scale and permanence of population replacement by Russian settlers versus returnees is evolving and will depend on future policy, security and economic incentives; current projections are uncertain.
Bottom line
Firsthand accounts and monitoring reports paint a picture of occupied eastern Ukraine in which coercive security practices, administrative integration and broken services combine to make everyday life precarious for many residents. Large numbers have left, civic actors face detention or exile, and infrastructure damage deepens humanitarian need. While Russian authorities describe socioeconomic programs for the regions, activists and displaced people say those measures coexist with repression and policies that favor newcomers over prewar residents.
What to watch next: independent access for humanitarian agencies and investigators, documentation of detention and abuse that can support accountability, and whether reconstruction and service programs prioritize returning residents or entrench demographic change. International scrutiny and legal processes will matter for justice and for the prospects of post-conflict restoration.
Sources
- Associated Press — news reporting and interviews
- Center for Civil Liberties — Ukrainian NGO monitoring human-rights abuses
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights — U.N. human-rights reporting
- Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman — official statements and figures