| Russia increases pressure on civilians in occupied Ukraine |
| The Russian authorities in occupied territory of Ukraine have imposed strict new measures on civilians. Most recently, they have “reinforced” counterintelligence units and are restricting travel between towns and villages, Ukraine’s military high command said. |
| Last week, the Kremlin decreed that those in occupied territory who did not accept Russian passports could be relocated from their homes, according to the Ukrainian military and local officials. Undercover Russian security officers have also started working in crowded public spaces to track down members of the Ukrainian resistance, according to a Ukrainian government agency. |
| The measures come as Ukrainian forces have stepped up their assaults behind enemy lines ahead of a widely expected counteroffensive. Anticipating the campaign, and still recovering from the costs of their winter offensive, many elements of the Russian forces have shifted into defensive positions. Yesterday, the Russian authorities reported more shelling and an explosion that derailed a freight train in the Russian border region. |
| Context: It is virtually impossible to independently verify much of what happens in Russian-occupied territory, because independent journalists, humanitarian groups and international observers are rarely granted access by the Russian authorities. But the Kremlin has made no secret of its efforts to absorb the regions into Russia. |
| In other news from the war: |
| Russia’s defense minister called for quickly doubling Russian production of guided missiles and speeding up the replenishment of other weapons and military equipment.A Polish diplomat in Moscow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry over Poland’s seizure of a Russian embassy school in Warsaw, a dispute that has worsened relations between the two nations. |
