Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territories risk losing their homes over unpaid utility bills
Photo: people in Russian-occupied territory (Getty Images)
In the temporarily occupied part of the Luhansk region, Russian occupation authorities are threatening to seize apartments and houses over unpaid utility bills, according to a post by Luhansk Regional Military Administration head Oleksii Kharchenko.
Properties with unpaid utility bills for 12 months or longer may be subject to so-called nationalization.
According to Kharchenko, the occupation authorities disregard property owners’ income and the circumstances that led to the debt. In particular, people may have left frontline areas to protect their children.
"If debt has accumulated over the past year, the Russians seize the property," the head of the Regional Military Administration wrote.
Thus, failure to pay utility bills for a year is becoming grounds for the occupation authorities to add homes to lists of properties slated for nationalization.
Occupation authorities dismantle damaged buildings in Severodonetsk
Meanwhile, in temporarily occupied Severodonetsk, Russian forces continue to dismantle apartment blocks damaged during the assault on the city.
According to Kharchenko, the occupation authorities had promised for years to restore these buildings, but are now dismantling them instead of repairing them. Two more apartment blocks are scheduled for demolition in October.
At the same time, the owners of apartments lost as a result of the demolitions have not been provided with new housing, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration said.
As previously reported, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin expects to seize full control of Donbas by the autumn of next year. Otherwise, negotiations are likely to become more probable.
A few days ago, US officials said that resolving the issue of Donbas was the only way to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine closer.
