In a blatant violation of international law, the Kremlin is preparing new legislation that would grant free land plots in the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine’s Kherson region to Russian military personnel participating in the war against Ukraine. The initiative, recently reported by the independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe, aims to formalize the seizure of Ukrainian territory and distribute it as a reward to the invading forces.
According to the drafted bill, the right to claim these stolen lands will be extended to a wide range of individuals involved in the ongoing aggression. Eligible groups include active-duty military personnel, volunteer fighters, members of Russian security services who have engaged in combat operations, and the families of soldiers killed in action. Priority for receiving the land allocations will reportedly be given to wounded troops and those who have received Russian state military honors.
The occupying authorities plan to issue these land plots on a one-time basis, offering them either as private property or under long-term lease agreements. The Kremlin’s legislation states that the confiscated Ukrainian land can be utilized for building residential homes, running personal agricultural plots, or engaging in gardening and farming. Analysts suggest this move is a calculated attempt to alter the demographic makeup of the occupied territories, artificially populating them with loyal Russian citizens to complicate any future de-occupation efforts by Ukrainian forces.
This systematic expropriation of property is not a new phenomenon in the region. Throughout 2024, numerous reports emerged detailing how Russian occupation forces forcibly evicted local Ukrainian residents from their homes in towns such as Oleshky and Hola Prystan in the Kherson region. The seized properties were frequently repurposed to house Russian military officers or transformed into fortified combat positions and logistical hubs.
The international community and the Ukrainian government have consistently maintained that all decrees, laws, and territorial claims made by Russia regarding the occupied regions are legally null and void. The Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits an occupying power from seizing private property or transferring its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. Human rights organizations continue to document these actions, categorizing the mass appropriation of Ukrainian land and homes as a war crime. Legal experts emphasize that once the territories are liberated, all property rights will be restored to their rightful Ukrainian owners, and those complicit in the illegal land transfers will face prosecution in international tribunals.