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Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday reported that occupying Russian authorities are unlawfully seizing civilian property belonging to occupied Ukrainians in violation of international law, which prohibits the unlawful confiscation of private property unless strictly justified by military necessity.
HRW analyzed around 8,000 cases involving property seizures filed between March 2024 and January 2026 in 25 courts in occupied areas, with court records showing “consistent disregard of evidence of ownership and efforts by owners to assert their rights.” The seizure of property has affected millions of displaced Ukrainians or those who refuse to reregister, as they are stripped of shelter, income, or the means to sustain their lives. The rights group claims that this process undermines the prospect of refugees and internally displaced people returning home in “safety and dignity.”
HRW Associate Ukraine Director Yulia Gorbunova stated, “Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes in areas under Russian occupation due to the ongoing war. Now they also face the unlawful seizure of their property as Russia blatantly disregards its obligations as an occupying power.”
In 2022, Russian authorities introduced “an unlawful and opaque administrative process” in occupied areas, through which Ukrainian owners are required to reregister their property under Russian law by January 2028. Ukrainian property owners are also required to obtain Russian citizenship to participate in this process. The deadline, however, was later brought forward to July 2026, claiming residents had already had “more than enough time” to reregister their property. The authorities designate the private property that is not reregistered as “ownerless,” after which courts transfer it to municipal ownership.
Following its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russian authorities have unilaterally annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, adopting their own administrative and legal systems in occupied areas. This annexation has been seen as unlawful under international law. Russian authorities have also “methodically made passportization a tool of administrative control by linking all essential services to accepting Russian citizenship,” including phone communication, as SIM cards from local operators now require Russian identification.
According to Maksym Beznosiuk, a strategic policy specialist, “Moscow’s ultimate objective is to force pro-Russian allegiance and erase any traces of Ukrainian identity. Ukrainians who resist these efforts are receiving administrative removal orders and forced expulsions.”
Article 51 of Customary International Humanitarian Law, which applies universally to all warring parties, prohibits an occupying power from confiscating private property without any justification of military necessity. Regulation 46 of the Hague Convention (1907), to which Russia is a party, provides a similar prohibition.
The post Russia unlawfully seizes civilian property in occupied areas, rights group warns appeared first on JURIST - News.
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HRW analyzed around 8,000 cases involving property seizures filed between March 2024 and January 2026 in 25 courts in occupied areas, with court records showing “consistent disregard of evidence of ownership and efforts by owners to assert their rights.” The seizure of property has affected millions of displaced Ukrainians or those who refuse to reregister, as they are stripped of shelter, income, or the means to sustain their lives. The rights group claims that this process undermines the prospect of refugees and internally displaced people returning home in “safety and dignity.”
HRW Associate Ukraine Director Yulia Gorbunova stated, “Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes in areas under Russian occupation due to the ongoing war. Now they also face the unlawful seizure of their property as Russia blatantly disregards its obligations as an occupying power.”
In 2022, Russian authorities introduced “an unlawful and opaque administrative process” in occupied areas, through which Ukrainian owners are required to reregister their property under Russian law by January 2028. Ukrainian property owners are also required to obtain Russian citizenship to participate in this process. The deadline, however, was later brought forward to July 2026, claiming residents had already had “more than enough time” to reregister their property. The authorities designate the private property that is not reregistered as “ownerless,” after which courts transfer it to municipal ownership.
Following its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russian authorities have unilaterally annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, adopting their own administrative and legal systems in occupied areas. This annexation has been seen as unlawful under international law. Russian authorities have also “methodically made passportization a tool of administrative control by linking all essential services to accepting Russian citizenship,” including phone communication, as SIM cards from local operators now require Russian identification.
According to Maksym Beznosiuk, a strategic policy specialist, “Moscow’s ultimate objective is to force pro-Russian allegiance and erase any traces of Ukrainian identity. Ukrainians who resist these efforts are receiving administrative removal orders and forced expulsions.”
Article 51 of Customary International Humanitarian Law, which applies universally to all warring parties, prohibits an occupying power from confiscating private property without any justification of military necessity. Regulation 46 of the Hague Convention (1907), to which Russia is a party, provides a similar prohibition.
The post Russia unlawfully seizes civilian property in occupied areas, rights group warns appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.