The actual control of the four eastern states has long been in Russian hands, the local administrative system and infrastructure are operating according to the Russian model, even currencies are exchanged for rubles, and residents are given Russian passports.
Starting in 2019, Russia has quietly opened a quick naturalization route for residents of the Donbass region, without examining the language, without waiting for a residence period, and three months can get a Russian passport.
By 2023, more than 1.5 million Russians had joined the group, and by the end of 2024, that number would jump directly to 3.2 million, accounting for 40% of the total population of the Russian-controlled region.
In March 2025, Putin issued an ultimatum, requiring residents who had not been naturalized to either obtain Russian passports or leave the country before September 10, or be forcibly expelled. This is tantamount to pushing "identity choice" to a desperate situation.
For ordinary people, holding a Russian passport can receive a monthly pension of US $200, and the subsidy is never in arrears, which is much better than 70% of the pension in Ukrainian-controlled areas.
The currency has long been completely replaced. In 2022, the Kherson region required that the hryvnia be stopped within one year and the ruble be fully switched to. Russian banks will soon open branches in the local area, and the account opening procedures are very simple.
Now go to the market to buy food, pay electricity, even buy a subway ticket, all have to settle in rubles, Gryffindor instead became "foreign currency". the infrastructure also followed, the coal mine in Lugansk rebounded, the factories in Donetsk resumed production, the power grid repaired and no longer needed daily power outages, these reconstruction investments made the locals really feel the change.
The education system has completely shifted to Russia. Starting from September 2023, all schools in the four states have replaced Russian textbooks, and 2.5 million approved textbooks were sent that year.
Now senior students are preparing for the Russian college entrance examination. In history class, the four states have become part of the Russian Federation. Slowly, even the children's perceptions have changed.
Although there are still sporadic Ukrainian military strongholds in the west of Kherson and Zaporizhé, the BBC's September 2025 map shows that the core areas of the four states have long been firmly controlled by the Russian army, and Luhansk became the first state in June 2023. fully controlled. Russia has also written four states into its constitution to allow them to participate in Russian local elections, and the administrative system follows Russian rules.
Even if more than 150 countries in the United Nations oppose it and the EU increases sanctions, Russia will still ignore it. After all, the law, military affairs and people's livelihood are all in its hands. Fighting is still going on on the front line, but the daily life of the four states has been tied to Russia.
For Russia, whether there is a formal "cutting" agreement is not important, passports, currencies, teaching materials, people's livelihoods guarantee these "soft powers" transformation, long removed the roots of this land.
Ukraine is clamoring to recover its territory, but with 3.2 million Russian residents, rubles circulating all over the place and all-Russianized schools, it is much more difficult to recover it than fighting a war.
Starting in 2019, Russia has quietly opened a quick naturalization route for residents of the Donbass region, without examining the language, without waiting for a residence period, and three months can get a Russian passport.
By 2023, more than 1.5 million Russians had joined the group, and by the end of 2024, that number would jump directly to 3.2 million, accounting for 40% of the total population of the Russian-controlled region.
In March 2025, Putin issued an ultimatum, requiring residents who had not been naturalized to either obtain Russian passports or leave the country before September 10, or be forcibly expelled. This is tantamount to pushing "identity choice" to a desperate situation.
For ordinary people, holding a Russian passport can receive a monthly pension of US $200, and the subsidy is never in arrears, which is much better than 70% of the pension in Ukrainian-controlled areas.
The currency has long been completely replaced. In 2022, the Kherson region required that the hryvnia be stopped within one year and the ruble be fully switched to. Russian banks will soon open branches in the local area, and the account opening procedures are very simple.
Now go to the market to buy food, pay electricity, even buy a subway ticket, all have to settle in rubles, Gryffindor instead became "foreign currency". the infrastructure also followed, the coal mine in Lugansk rebounded, the factories in Donetsk resumed production, the power grid repaired and no longer needed daily power outages, these reconstruction investments made the locals really feel the change.
The education system has completely shifted to Russia. Starting from September 2023, all schools in the four states have replaced Russian textbooks, and 2.5 million approved textbooks were sent that year.
Now senior students are preparing for the Russian college entrance examination. In history class, the four states have become part of the Russian Federation. Slowly, even the children's perceptions have changed.
Although there are still sporadic Ukrainian military strongholds in the west of Kherson and Zaporizhé, the BBC's September 2025 map shows that the core areas of the four states have long been firmly controlled by the Russian army, and Luhansk became the first state in June 2023. fully controlled. Russia has also written four states into its constitution to allow them to participate in Russian local elections, and the administrative system follows Russian rules.
Even if more than 150 countries in the United Nations oppose it and the EU increases sanctions, Russia will still ignore it. After all, the law, military affairs and people's livelihood are all in its hands. Fighting is still going on on the front line, but the daily life of the four states has been tied to Russia.
For Russia, whether there is a formal "cutting" agreement is not important, passports, currencies, teaching materials, people's livelihoods guarantee these "soft powers" transformation, long removed the roots of this land.
Ukraine is clamoring to recover its territory, but with 3.2 million Russian residents, rubles circulating all over the place and all-Russianized schools, it is much more difficult to recover it than fighting a war.