Russia has been accused of systematically confiscating Ukrainian-owned property in occupied territories, amid allegations of forced citizenship pressures and restrictions on displaced residents attempting to reclaim their homes.
Human Rights Watch has called on Moscow to end what it describes as “illegal property seizures”, warning that Ukrainian civilians in Russian-controlled areas are being denied basic rights over their homes and land.
In a report released on May 26, the organisation said occupation authorities have increasingly relied on legal and administrative measures to reclassify Ukrainian-owned housing as “ownerless”, enabling its seizure and redistribution.
The allegations come after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation in December 2025 allowing occupation authorities to declare property “ownerless” and transfer ownership under local administrative systems in occupied regions of Ukraine.
According to the report, displaced Ukrainians face significant barriers to reclaiming their homes, including requirements to obtain Russian citizenship and the practical impossibility of travelling safely back into occupied territory from Ukrainian-controlled areas.
It also highlights what it describes as a “filtration” system, which residents say effectively prevents many displaced people from returning to verify ownership claims.
“On the one hand, authorities say owners must appear within 30 days to prove ownership. But no one gets through the filtration process,” one displaced resident from Sievierodonetsk told Human Rights Watch.
The report said more than 8,000 court cases relating to property seizures were filed between March 2024 and January 2026 across courts in 25 occupied jurisdictions, though it warned the true figure is likely significantly higher.
Court records cited in the report are said to show a pattern of dismissing evidence of ownership and rejecting claims brought by displaced Ukrainians attempting to assert property rights.
Human Rights Watch said Russia, as an occupying power, is bound under international law to protect civilians and respect existing legal structures in occupied territory. It accused Moscow of violating international human rights law by denying Ukrainians access to their homes and discriminating on the basis of nationality.
Separately, Ukrainian officials and civil society groups have reported similar patterns of property confiscation in cities under Russian control, including Mariupol, where local authorities have allegedly begun identifying and repurposing apartments deemed vacant.
Petro Andriushchenko, a former adviser to the Mariupol mayor and head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, said evictions from “ownerless” apartments began in April, with properties expected to be redistributed or sold to public-sector workers.
Ukraine’s National Resistance Center has also alleged that utilities are being disconnected in certain buildings as part of a wider process of identifying vacant housing for potential seizure.
Russia has not publicly responded in detail to the specific allegations contained in the Human Rights Watch report.
The accusations are likely to add to mounting international criticism of Moscow’s administration of occupied Ukrainian territories, where questions over civilian rights, legal jurisdiction and population displacement remain highly contentious as the war continues.
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