Almost one-fifth of Ukraine's territory is under Russian control, encompassing parts of the Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions. Between three and five million people are believed to remain in these Russian-controlled areas. Cities and towns have suffered great devastation, and a large part of the population has fled.
A large part of the people who have stayed are elderly and sick, including in Sievjerodonetsk, a war-torn city in Luhansk. In Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, there is a shortage of water and heat. ' Water trucks drive around filling large barrels in residential areas where water no longer comes from taps.
There are long queues, and water in the trucks sometimes freezes into ice. It is reported that in Altjevsk in Luhansk, every other household has been without heat for two freezing winter months. It is reported that there are no resources to fix the electricity grid in Altjevsk.
All the good work Putin does.
' Homeless residents have also turned to Putin in a video appeal for help. Vladimir Putin said in September that he knows how difficult it is for residents in the liberated cities and towns, with many urgent and acute problems. 5 million residents were reported to have received Russian passports, which is a prerequisite for receiving healthcare and other public services.
There is a shortage of teachers and doctors in Russian-occupied areas. In Sievjerodonetsk, there is one ambulance, and Russian healthcare staff are brought in on temporary contracts. A woman says she supports 'all the good work Putin does' because she grew up in the Soviet Union.
In Mariupol, where about half the population has fled, empty homes are seized and distributed, many to Russians who are offered special state benefits if they move to the occupied areas, especially if they have socially important professions.