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Russia is intensifying work aimed at establishing an occupation regime in the captured territories of the eastern and southern Ukraine. Last week, the first deputy head of putin’s administration Serhii Kiriienko held a meeting in Donetsk with the leaders of the so-called ‘L/DNR’. The issues of creating and furthering activities of russian ‘military-civil administrations’ were discussed during the meeting.

Particular attention was paid to the urgent introduction of a system of mandatory paid licensing of Ukrainian private entrepreneurs for trade with russian entities. According to the invaders, this will allow the occupation regime to take control of financial flows in the occupied Ukrainian territories. And in the future – to completely reorient local business to the russian market.

At present, the occupiers' attempts to ‘restart’ local business are facing the resistance from a large part of the local population, as well as obstacles from traditional russian corruption. In the village of Shevchenkove of Kharkiv region, the occupiers have given citizens the opportunity to establish work at the local market, before hanging on its russian ‘tricolor’. Local citizens have broken the flagpole. After that, the occupiers promised to close the market in case of recurrence of ‘incidents’.

In Borova of Kharkiv region, the occupants are forcing the heads of agricultural enterprises to take people and machinery out into the field and start spring field work. In addition, there is a fact that most of the equipments were either broken or stolen by the occupiers themselves. There is also a shortage of seeds, fuels and lubricants. Farmers are not guaranteed safety – several farmers have already been injured by walking on shells and mines while trying to carry out field work. Those farmers, who refuse to work, are threatened with ‘nationalization’ of land.

In the villages of Botiieve and Strohanivka in the Melitopol district of Zaporizhzhia region, representatives of the occupation commandant’s office are demanding that entrepreneurs will open shops, cafes, places of recreation and leisure. Condition for safe work: no Ukrainian goods. Instead, contacts of suppliers from the occupied Crimea are provided. The invaders say it will not leave the region and continues to prepare for the introduction of the ‘ruble zone’.