This book reveals the mechanisms of the Russian occupation of Ukrainian mainland areas during the full-scale invasion. What kind of regime has Russia established since the beginning of its occupation and annexation of Ukrainian territory? What does the occupation mean for those affected, how do they experience Russian control, and how do they cope with the imposition of Russian order? What kind of everyday practices, tensions, and contradictions emerge? The ultimate aim of Russia’s occupation policy since 2022 is the destruction of Ukraine’s distinctive political, social, linguistic, and religious identity. Occupation means forced displacement, destruction, theft of property, systematic repression, regular human rights abuses, denigration, the imposition of Russia’s imperial narrative, control of the public sphere, the Russification of society, the economy, and polity, and forcing people to adopt humiliating survival strategies. The experience of war and occupation entails shock, violence, torture, and sexual abuse as a “new normal.” Russia intentionally destroys the social fabric and solidarity of Ukrainians.



This book examines the realities of Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories since 2022—its regime, repression, and the impact on daily life. It exposes how Russia seeks to erase Ukraine’s identity through violence, displacement, and forced assimilation, turning war into a brutal ‘new normal’.