The Dark Shadow of Russian-Occupied Territories... Divisions Between 'Pro-Russian vs Anti-Russian' in Ukrainian Recaptured Villages

Russian Forces Conduct 'Russification' in Occupied Ukrainian Territories
Conflicts Arise Among Residents Due to Ukrainian Intelligence Agency's Search for Collaborators

On the 12th of last month (local time), volunteers distributed food and daily necessities to residents in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, northeastern Ukraine. Photo by AP News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Some residents of villages that were occupied by Russian forces for over half a year after the invasion of Ukraine and later liberated are experiencing conflicts among themselves over whether they collaborated with the Russian military.

According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 8th (local time), in villages such as Shevchenkivka in Kherson Province, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces a month ago, residents are divided and in conflict over whether they cooperated with the Russian military.

Reports indicate that around March, when the Russian military first occupied the area, the residents of Shevchenkivka had close relationships with each other. Instead of foreign Russian soldiers, troops affiliated with pro-Russian separatist forces controlling eastern Ukraine were stationed there, so there was little resistance due to language and cultural differences.

However, as the occupation prolonged and Russia began a "Russification" campaign to annex the occupied Ukrainian territories, the situation changed. Russia demanded personal information under the pretext of distributing drinking water and food and also encouraged the issuance of Russian passports, which caused the villagers to split into pro-Russian and anti-Russian factions.

According to local residents, a woman in her 40s openly showed pro-Russian behavior by asking around "Where can I get a Russian passport?" and her husband reported a young man from the same village to the Russian military.

In particular, the division among residents deepened as the Russian military distributed money to villagers. The occupation administration, filled with pro-Russian figures, gave each villager 5,000 hryvnias (about 180,000 KRW) last summer. Some residents refused this, calling it "blood money," but pro-Russian residents accepted it, saying "there was no choice to survive."

The occupation administration in Kherson and other Russian-occupied areas decided on annexation to Russia through a referendum a few weeks later. The vote was reportedly conducted without adhering to basic procedural principles such as secret ballots. After the Ukrainian military's successful counterattack, Shevchenkivka residents were liberated in September. However, conflicts among residents continue as Ukrainian intelligence agencies have begun identifying collaborators. WP reported, "The shadow of occupation remains."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.