British intelligence analyzes Russia's Russification policy on occupied Ukrainian territories

The Russification of sovereign Ukrainian regions as historical territories of the Russian state underscores the openly imperialist nature of Russia's ongoing attempts to subjugate Ukraine.

As Ukrinform reports, the UK Ministry of Defence stated this on X, citing intelligence findings.

"The Russian authorities have been directed to build Russian identity and increase the use of the Russian language in the territory it illegally occupies in Ukraine, according to a decree signed by Russian President Putin, published on 25 November 2025," the report says.

According to UK intelligence, the document titled "Strategy of Russia's national policy in the period to 2036" highlights a continued Russification policy, forcing the Russian language, identity and culture on to the residents of sovereign Ukrainian territory.

"This policy forms part of Russia's long-standing efforts to extirpate Ukrainian culture and identity, and delegitimize Ukrainian statehood," analysts believe.

They note that Russia now defines both occupied and non-occupied Ukrainian territory in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as Crimea, as part of the Russian Federation.

"This directly contradicts Russia's own formal recognition of Ukraine's independence and sovereignty following the collapse of the Soviet Union," British experts emphasize.

As Ukrinform reported, according to UK intelligence, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the number of kindergartens in Russia that implement military programs has increased significantly.

Illustrative photo: Flickr