The Russian government’s Family Mortgage program has started offering subsidized loans to Russian citizens who want to buy property in Ukrainian towns -- including some under Kyiv’s control -- alongside cities within Russia.
Some of the Ukrainian cities on the list, such as Melitopol and Primorsk, remain under Russian occupation, while others -- including Kherson, Beryslav, and Snihurivka -- have been included despite being recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
Dom.rf, the financial institution operating the program, has been offering these mortgages to families with children under the age of 7 since April 1.
In cities still under Ukrainian control, daily life continues despite the threat of attacks.
Kramatorsk, the administrative center of the Donetsk region, was retaken by Ukrainian forces in the summer of 2014, during the early stages of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Today, it is home to around 60,000 people.
“If someone bought my apartment or house, I’d break their arms and legs. How else could I react?” said Mykola, a 55-year-old schoolteacher who lives locally. “Imagine someone buying your home without your knowledge -- how would you feel?!”
'A Political Maneuver'
Although most schools in Kramatorsk were destroyed by missile attacks and classes are now held online, hospitals, shops, and other essential services remain operational, according to RFE/RL reporters on the ground.
“I believe Russia is doing this to psychologically pressure Ukrainians and destabilize our society,” Mykola said.
Russia maintains that Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea regions are part of the Russian Federation -- a claim that has been broadly rejected by the international community.
Russian economic commentator Nikolai Kulbaka told RFE/RL that the mortgage initiative is politically, not economically, motivated.
“I don’t expect a high volume of purchases in this program,” he said. “This is primarily a political maneuver aimed at showcasing these areas as part of normal Russian life.”
'Deep Indignation'
Kherson, another Ukrainian city listed in the program, was the first major Ukrainian urban center to fall to Russian forces shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 before being retaken by Kyiv eight months later.
Today, 49-year-old Volodymyr Molchanov lives in Kherson with his parents after his apartment in the city was destroyed. His wife and son have relocated to Odesa.
“I feel deep indignation,” he told RFE/RL. “At the same time, I understand this is propaganda -- a disinformation tactic meant to signal strength in ongoing behind-the-scenes negotiations with the United States.”
Even though Mariupol is under Russian control, it has not been included in the mortgage initiative. In April 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that over 90 percent of the Black Sea port had been destroyed.
According to the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, this government mortgage program offers loans at a 6 percent interest rate -- nearly five times cheaper than the current market average in Russia.
There is no official data on how many Russian citizens have applied for a mortgage or purchased property in Ukraine under the program. On March 20, the Russian outlet RBK reached out to Dom.rf for comment but received no response.
Dom.rf’s website doesn’t make it clear how Russia is going to allocate the purchased apartments in the Kyiv-controlled cities to its citizens.
The total number of Russian citizens who have moved into occupied Ukrainian cities since 2014 also remains unclear.
However, according to the Ukrainian Presidential Representative Office in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, approximately 1 million Russians have settled in Crimea alone since it was illegally annexed by Moscow more than 11 years ago.
