Russians continue policy of replacing indigenous population in TOT, says head of Occupation Studies Center

Petro Andriushchenko, the head of the Occupation Studies Center, noted that Russians are deliberately dispersing Ukrainians across Russian territory and are not abandoning their policy of population replacement.

He shared this on Espreso TV.

"There is an undeniable sense in this, in that the more of our people remain in the occupied territories, so to speak, the easier it will be to return them (the territories – ed.). It doesn’t matter by what means. It could be through military means, it could be through diplomatic means, but it should simplify the process, because you can’t erase a Ukrainian from a Ukrainian, no matter how the Russians try. But the Russians understand this better than we do, so they do not abandon their policy of population replacement, and that’s why there are fewer Ukrainians in the occupied territories, primarily due to relocation to other territories controlled by the Russian Federation. So the Russians are pursuing a deliberate policy to disperse our people. It’s not just about bringing Russians to the occupied territories. No, it’s about removing Ukrainians from there and dispersing them across Russia," he noted.

Petro Andriushchenko mentioned that the Russians are fully aware that two or three Ukrainians together can become a problem that could begin to rebel at any time.

"Because the Russians are fully aware, and they are absolutely right, that two Ukrainians, three Ukrainians together – that’s already a problem, which could start a rebellion at any time. So by leaving people in the occupied territories, in the long term, for example, as we modelled, within five years, we’ll have the situation where the vast majority of people currently under occupation will end up in some place like Vladivostok. Well, we certainly don’t want that. We’re not going to occupy Vladivostok in this way, in particular. What we’re seeing with trends in the occupied territories already, and almost three years of occupation, is that the number of Ukrainians there is decreasing," said Petro Andriushchenko.

• On April 27, it was reported that in higher educational institutions of the temporarily occupied Luhansk region, Russian occupiers are encouraging youth to join so-called Cossack communities.
• On April 27, it was also reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi at the Ukrainian embassy in Italy on April 26, where they discussed the issue of returning Ukrainian children from Russian occupation.