In the conquered territories of southern Ukraine, Russification in rapid steps
Russian servicemen walk near the "Mariupol" welcome sign, which has been painted in the colors of the Russian flag, at the entrance to Mariupol on June 12, 2022. AFP - YURI KADOBNOV
Text by: Anissa El Jabri Follow
4 mins
Mariupol, Berdiansk, Melitopol, Kherson… In these towns and regions conquered since the “special operation” in Ukraine, as the Kremlin says, Russia is very rapidly setting up its officials and institutions.
New mayors are in office, the currency is beginning to be changed and for the past few days, Russian passports have been distributed.
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With our special correspondent in Mariupol, Berdiansk, and Melitopol,
Anissa El Jabri
The first symbol is several weeks old.
In Melitopol as in Berdiansk, there is a dual circulation of Ukrainian and Russian currency.
The installation of banks and especially ATMs is slower but everywhere the payment of pensions and sometimes wages in rubles has begun.
In other aspects of everyday life Russia is also advancing, such as the media.
In Mariupol, residents are still queuing at cisterns for water, but trucks are broadcasting the first Russian state channel to the streets.
The radio was already on the air before the end of the siege.
The telephone network is no longer Ukrainian but Russian, including in the most western oblast, that of Kherson, almost entirely conquered.
Another important symbol, national holidays: May 9, end of the Second World War, "the great patriotic war" in Russia was also commemorated in these territories.
Same thing on June 12, the day of the commemoration of Russia's Independence Day.
Apart from the immense cranes of the port of Mariupol still painted with the yellow and blue of Ukraine, everywhere in these conquered territories flies the white blue red flag of Russia.
It is on official buildings, monuments, lampposts... And in Berdiansk, for example, the authorities have announced within a year at the latest a monument to the soldiers who came to “
liberate the inhabitants from Nazism and fascism
”.
Alexander Fedorovich Saoulenko, the new head of the region met during a press trip organized by the Russian army, said: "
The inhabitants understand very well that the Russian soldiers came to liberate us from Nazism and fascism, and in gratitude, they want to erect a monument.
we will choose the project and the monument will be erected within a year
”.
Listening to the leaders of these cities and regions, the inhabitants who remained there are all in agreement with the military reality on the ground.
23 citizens of Kherson, according to the official TASS agency, have already received Russian passports.
55 in Melitopol but, according to the mayor, there are several hundred in the queue for her city.
And the distribution should accelerate thanks to a "
simplified procedure
" allowed by a decree signed at the end of May by Vladimir Putin.
Rapid rapprochement with Moscow
Do these changes all install smoothly?
It is difficult to know concretely and precisely.
In any case, incidents have been reported and acknowledged by the new authorities.
In Berdiansk, Alexander Fedorovich Saoulenko, evokes “
an incident, damaged pipes at the electricity distribution point.
We've already fixed it and there's light in almost every part of town.
I can't call it a terrorist attack.
It is a sabotage
”.
In Melitopol, on the other hand, the new mayor, in agreement with the new order, also met during a press trip organized by the Russian army, judges: "
Yes, unfortunately, there was a terrorist act when we commemorated Russia Day.
The young people injured were just pedestrians, people who were walking near the park in the center of the city.
This is one more example of the Ukrainian attitude towards us.
They know perfectly well that it is peaceful people who pay the price for their actions
,” explains Galina Danilchenko.
What future for these regions?
Integration into Russian territory or the birth of Republics consecrated by local consultations?
In any case, the direction is clear: rapprochement with Moscow.
Last Thursday, Vladimir Putin evoked the territorial conquests of Peter the Great: “
One has the impression that by fighting Sweden, he seized something.
He didn't grab anything, he took over.
Apparently, it is also incumbent on us to resume and reinforce
”.
Comments that were widely seen as an allusion to the establishment of these pro-Russian administrations in southern Ukraine
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