Lawyer: Russians sell Ukrainians' apartments in the occupied territories as mortgages at 2% – lawyer

Occupation administrations in the temporarily occupied territories are selling apartments stolen from Ukrainians to Russians as mortgages at 2% interest per annum.

This was reported by Vira Yastrebova, director of the Eastern Human Rights Group and a lawyer, on Hromadske Radio.

According to Yastrebova Russian authorities in the occupied territories have initiated a campaign to declare properties as «ownerless.» This persists since October of last year. Initially, this applied to properties where the owners had not resided for an extended period. However, the occupiers are now seizing homes from Ukrainians living in the occupied territories. They specifically target those who refuse to comply with demands to re-register their property under Russian law.

“Why are they doing this? Primarily, to give these properties to individuals who are loyal to the regime—those who have moved for ‘career tourism,’ support the actions of the occupation administrations, and are unafraid to live in homes taken from Ukrainians, essentially confiscated as part of their homeland», — Yastrebova explained.

The lawyer also highlighted the alarming news that these stolen apartments are being sold to Russians at a mortgage rate of just 2% per annum. Yastrebova pointed out that this is part of Russia’s broader strategy to replace the population in the occupied territories.

Additional Information

It’s worth noting that back in August, the occupiers aimed to «resolve the issue» of property belonging to Ukrainians who had left the temporarily occupied territories.

In the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol, in Zaporizhzhia Region, occupation authorities conducted raids. They identified apartments where owners had not submitted proper ownership documents. This was done with the help of the military.

The National Resistance Centre also reported that Russian occupiers plan to transfer seized agricultural land in southern Ukraine to business structures with ties to local occupation authorities.

Additionally, the occupiers are raising utility tariffs. This is done in an effort to speed up the issuance of Russian passports in the occupied territories. They keep reminding residents that only Russian passport holders are eligible for subsidies.

Earlier reports indicated that in the temporarily occupied territories, Russian forces have threatened to deport anyone who refuses to obtain a Russian passport.