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Russia would be housing Cuban migrants in abandoned homes left by displaced Ukrainians in the Crimean Peninsula and other occupied areas in southern Ukraine, according to reports from the Ukrainian partisan movement Atesh. This information was published this Tuesday by Kyiv Post, which cites statements from the resistance group itself.
According to Atesh, on-ground agents have documented an increase in foreign citizens, primarily from Cuba and India, who are being relocated to occupied cities such as Melitopol and Yevpatoriya.
The migrants, they assert, are settled in properties classified by the occupying authorities as "ownerless," after their Ukrainian owners fled due to the war and Russian occupation.
The partisan group argues that many of these Cubans are being recruited for poorly paid municipal jobs, with the promise of gaining Russian citizenship. This practice not only highlights the precarious situation these migrants find themselves in, but also raises serious legal and humanitarian concerns.
According to Atesh, this policy would serve to alleviate the labor shortage in the occupied territories as well as to alter the demographic composition of the region with populations deemed more loyal to Moscow.
The reports also include that this resettlement could be linked to future electoral processes organized by Russia in the occupied territories, with the aim of strengthening support for the ruling party.
Atesh identified Oksana Mekhanicheva, a senior official from the housing administration imposed by Russia in Crimea, as the alleged coordinator of the process, although these claims have not been independently verified, emphasizes Kyiv Post.
From the perspective of international humanitarian law, the transfer of the civilian population by an occupying power to occupied territories is prohibited and may constitute a war crime. The resistance movement warned that those responsible for these actions will be held accountable.
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