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  • Over the past 10 years, Russia has reduced the population of the Donetsk region by almost a third and is settling it en masse with its own citizens — Main Intelligence Directorate

Over the past 10 years, Russia has reduced the population of the Donetsk region by almost a third and is settling it en masse with its own citizens — Main Intelligence Directorate

Artur Romanchenko
Artur Romanchenko Journalist
Over the past 10 years, Russia has reduced the population of the Donetsk region by almost a third and is settling it en masse with its own citizens — Main Intelligence Directorate
The population of the Donetsk region has halved over the past 20 years
Over the past 10 years, the population of the Donetsk region has fallen by almost a third due to the situation in Russia. Whilst around 7.37 million people lived in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2001, by the start of 2024 the figure had fallen to approximately 3.75 million.

This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate.

The GUR attributes this to the war, repression, forced Russification, conscription into the Russian army, the deterioration of medical and social services, and the lack of protection for property rights, all of which are causing Ukrainians to continue leaving the occupied territories.

At the same time, Russia is actively bringing its own citizens into the occupied territories. As of July 2026, there were between 200,000 and 300,000 ethnic Russians in occupied Crimea and Sevastopol. By 2042, the Kremlin plans to resettle a further 130,000 Russians in Sevastopol alone.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, as of 2024, there were 200,000 ethnic Russians and a further 100,000 or so labour migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus in the occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Since the start of 2026 alone, around 10,000 more such migrants have been registered in the occupied Donetsk region.

Officials seconded to the occupied territories are paid double their salary, as well as compensation for rent. In total, they can receive over $5,000 a month, which is more than eight times the average salary in Russia.

In addition, housing and plots of land seized from Ukrainians are being handed over to Russians. In 2025, four thousand plots of land were distributed to Russian military personnel in occupied Crimea.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Kremlin plans to increase the population of the Mariupol and Kalmius districts from 228,000 to 518,000 people by 2035, in particular by resettling Russian citizens.

It is worth recalling that in 2024, Ukraine ranked first in the world for mortality rates and, at the same time, last in the birth rate rankings. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, the mortality rate in Ukraine stands at 18.6 per thousand citizens — six children are born per thousand people.

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