Occupants nationalized 5,000 objects in Crimea: among them the property of Zelenskaya, Jamala and Usyk

In the occupied Crimea, Russia is massively nationalizing the real estate of Ukrainian citizens, even those who purchased their homes after 2022. Among the victims are First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, as well as singer Jamala and boxer Oleksandr Usyk.

This was reported by Krym.Realii.

The risk of purchasing real estate in Crimea is growing: Ukrainian legislation does not recognize transactions concluded through Russian structures on the peninsula. After the large-scale nationalization of Ukrainian citizens' property, the Russian authorities have made this practice even more dangerous.

According to human rights activists, massive illegal nationalizations of real estate are allegedly taking place against those Ukrainian citizens who support Kyiv and the Armed Forces. As a result, even new real estate buyers are at risk of losing their homes. Often, the victims are Russian citizens who wanted to own an apartment or house on the southern coast of Crimea or in Sevastopol.

Crimean human rights activists, who wished to remain anonymous, note that the appetite of the occupation authorities is growing, and cases of illegal seizure of property will become more widespread.

According to the victimized Russian buyer, Articles 35 and 40 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation are being violated in Crimea due to the seizure of property. According to the activist, there are several people who bought apartments after 2022 from owners recognized as "unfriendly to the Russian Federation" and now have lost their homes. The Ministry of Property and Land Relations of Crimea ignores their appeals and suggests resolving the issue through the court.

He also added that a group of victims is seeking to create a bill to protect the rights of bona fide buyers so that property cannot be taken away just because it was bought from an "unfriendly" owner.

Experts call such actions of the Russian occupation authorities openly gangster. Borys Babin, Doctor of Law, explains that nationalization in Crimea is carried out for commercial and corrupt purposes, often covering the interests of specific individuals.

This is not applied in Russia itself - the experiment is being conducted only in the occupied territories. Often, such nationalizations contain technical errors, which gives additional benefits to the actual beneficiaries of the property," Babin noted.

According to representatives of the Russian authorities in Crimea, the property of about 500 individuals and organizations, more than 5,600 objects, including businesses, land plots and housing, have been nationalized. The Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea clarifies that the actual number of victims is much higher - more than 800 legal entities and individuals, including the property of the First Lady of Ukraine, singer Jamala and boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk.

After the full-scale invasion, the occupation authorities of Crimea adopted a series of decisions to nationalize the property of Ukrainian politicians and oligarchs who, according to the Russian authorities, are carrying out "unfriendly actions" against Russia. The identification of such objects is coordinated by an "anti-terrorist commission" created by the occupiers.

In the first six months of 2025, the occupiers sold 25 confiscated objects in Crimea, receiving more than 2.2 billion rubles, and in 2024 the peninsula earned about 4.4 billion rubles from such sales, which is about 1.2 billion hryvnias.

Анна Бальчінос