Property Lost, Entry Denied

According to the independent media outlet Dossier Center, apartments in occupied Mariupol are being widely declared “ownerless” and transferred to local authorities. By early November 2025, the outlet counted nearly 7,000 such units, with the list growing weekly.

In reality, most of these apartments do have owners, but they are unable to prove ownership under Russian law.

Until October 2023, residents of the territories occupied during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine could remove their homes from the "ownerless" list by appearing in person at a local administrative center or through a representative with power of attorney. But on October 17, the rules tightened sharply: owners were required to appear in person and first obtain a Russian passport.

Almost simultaneously, Russia introduced new entry rules for Ukrainians, allowing them to enter only through Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport or by car via the Russia–Latvia border. At both points, Ukrainians undergo a "filtration" procedure.

Officially, roughly one in five Ukrainians fails filtration, meaning they are denied entry, usually without explanation. According to Dossier Center’s estimates, up to half may be turned away.

Roman and Tatyana Krahmalyov attempted to return from Germany to Mariupol via Sheremetyevo. During filtration, they were questioned for about 15 hours and then deported, labeled a threat to national security. The couple said the decision came as a shock. "We were sure we would pass. We have nothing to hide, none of the usual red flags," Tatyana said.

Dossier Center reported that the couple owns three apartments in Mariupol, which is possibly the reason they were barred from entering. Since they cannot reach Mariupol to re-register their properties under Russian law, the units have likely already been transferred, or will soon be transferred, to local authorities.

Ukrainian human rights advocates say the same and estimate that about 850,000 properties in the occupied territories are at risk of confiscation.

Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, agreed. He told Dossier Center that Russia’s FSB puts politicians, activists, and volunteers at the top of its blacklist. But the number of "non-admissible" individuals is clearly larger, he said, and property ownership may be a factor.

Even pro-Russian military bloggers have discussed the link between filtration and property seizures. In early 2025, Tatyana Montyan gave an interview claiming, "They don’t let pro-Russians in if they own property, residential or commercial. It all gets added to the ‘ownerless’ list and taken away."

Notably, in October 2025, Montyan, who frequently raised the issue of “ownerless” housing, was added to Russia’s list of extremists and terrorists.

Sometimes, even individuals working for the occupation authorities lose their apartments. Dossier Center reporters reviewing hundreds of "ownerless" units found a two-room apartment registered to a woman named Anna Viktorovna Khoroshun. A woman with the same full name and hometown is an aide to the Moscow-installed mayor of occupied Berdyansk and promotes pro-Russian narratives on Telegram.

In fall 2024, Andriushchenko’s Telegram channel published documents allegedly sent by the Russia-installed head of Mariupol to city department chiefs. The documents described a pilot project to distribute "ownerless" apartments to employees of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Investigative Committee, and the FSB. If the project proved successful, the units could also be given to police, emergency workers, soldiers, and veterans of the Russia’s War on Ukraine.

Another reason authorities seek as many “ownerless” apartments as possible is a severe housing shortage. Mariupol was heavily damaged in the fighting and needs roughly 5,000 apartments to resettle residents whose homes were destroyed.

According to Dossier Center, the number of "ownerless" units has exceeded 6,000, and authorities decided to cover one shortage with another. Since summer 2025, they have urged locals to apply for compensation housing specifically from these seized apartments.

Residents are not enthusiastic about moving into the homes of neighbors who fled. People from destroyed buildings regularly post video appeals to Putin. "We believe this is a predatory law. Let’s call things by their name. It means taking from some and giving to others," one such appeal said.

At the same time, gray-market schemes for removing apartments from the "ownerless" list are thriving. Owners are offered help for a price.

Olga (full name not given), who lives in Europe, said she managed to remove two of her apartments from the list and sell them. She paid about $6,500 for the service, transferred in cryptocurrency.

According to Olga, the service is provided by people close to the occupation authorities. "These are people who used to run gambling halls, currency exchanges, and illegal alcohol. Like crime bosses. They have pro-Russian views and stayed when others left," she said.

Dossier Center journalists found that these services are run by Roman Teslyuk. Ukrainian media previously described him as a fixer for local crime boss Petro Ivanov. Ivanov has been linked by various reports to Russian senator and Mariupol native Dmitry Sablin, a leader of Russia’s veterans’ organization and a developer.