Russia has started bringing its citizens to the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhya Region and appointing military officers to senior positions, the head of the Zaporizhzhya regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, has said.
"The Russians are changing the ethnic composition of residents in the temporarily occupied territories - they are bringing in guest workers from all over Russia and announcing the appointment of the killers, who are participants in the SVO [Russia's euphemism for war in Ukraine] to senior positions," said Fedorov.
In this way, the occupiers are trying to replace the indigenous inhabitants of the captured part of Zaporizhzhya Region with loyal Russians.
"Another programme aimed at replacing the ethnic composition is the 'time of heroes'. It provides for the employment of participants of the so-called 'special operation', i.e. the Russian aggressive war, in managerial positions," added Fedorov.
According to him, the occupiers have another project - Zaporizhzhya Virgin Lands - which involves the resettlement of Russian specialists and military personnel with their families to the TOT.
The actions of the Russians have already led to an increase in the number of people living in the TOT due to immigrants from the Russian Federation. In this way, Russia is forming a population loyal to the occupying authorities and preventing possible protests in the future.
Earlier, it was reported that Russians are preparing a massive settlement of the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhya Region with residents from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. For this purpose, they have come up with a codename for the operation - Zaporizhzhya Virgin Lands.