Occupants forcibly expropriate land in Crimea for defense needs

The terrorist country has intensified mass expropriation of land in Crimea. The land is being taken away from Ukrainian citizens and foreigners under the pretext of "border regime", "defense needs" and "unclaimed shares", which is a violation of international law.

This was reported by the press service of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

In 2025, Russia launched a large-scale campaign to forcibly seize land in the temporarily occupied Crimea. The seizures are being carried out through administrative pressure, judicial manipulation, and the use of Russian legislation that has no legitimacy on Ukrainian territory. The occupation authorities take away land from Ukrainian citizens and foreigners using three schemes.

The first mechanism is the application of the 2020 Russian presidential decree, which prohibits "foreigners" from owning land in the coastal areas of Crimea. Ukrainians who have not accepted Russian citizenship are forced to sell their land plots, and if they refuse, they file lawsuits in controlled "courts". As of 2025, at least 135 such cases have been recorded. Property has already been taken away from citizens of Ukraine, the EU, the UK, Israel, Kazakhstan, Belarus, South Africa, and others.

The second scheme concerns land plots that were once used by the military and became private property of Ukrainians after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the occupation of Crimea, these lands were recognized as "defense" and transferred to the ownership of the Russian Ministry of Defense. More than 25,000 hectares have already been seized under this scheme.

The third area is the seizure of "unclaimed" shares, i.e. land shares that were not registered in private ownership in time. Since January 1, 2025, the occupation authorities have had the right to recognize these plots as "no one's" without a court and transfer them to municipal ownership. By June, about 39 thousand hectares had been seized in this way.

Recently, in the occupied Crimea, the Russian authorities put up for sale all the shares of companies that manage the ports of Yalta and Yevpatoria, despite the fact that they are almost not used due to sanctions. It is likely that these facilities will be reoriented to tourist or passenger use, as no increase in cargo traffic is expected.

Анна Літман