Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The owners of the appartments now have 30 days to act before their homes are seized.
Property ownership usually offers a comforting sense of security and permanence.
For many, a home or a thriving business is the ultimate anchor.
Yet, that foundation is crumbling rapidly for those caught in shifting geopolitical winds.
Seizing private homes
Ukrinform reports that the regional state administration in occupied Luhansk said on Facebook that Russian military authorities are now tightening their grip on residential real estate.
Nearly 8,000 apartments are now considered ownerless, clearing the path for their “nationalization.”
According to the administration, properties face immediate seizure if they do not appear in the “state register.”
Residents have just 30 days to fix this paperwork deficit, which is a difficult task.
A new rule
New regulations put in place in March allow the authorities to deem a home ownerless. Properties left empty for three months or with unpaid bills are also highly vulnerable. It is this rule that is now being enforced.
Meanwhile, historical landmarks are faring poorly in the self-proclaimed “LPR” (Luhansk People’s Republic) area, the administration noted.
The Luhansk Regional State Administration also said that roughly 700 war monuments are crumbling.
Nationalization speeding up
The confiscation trend stretches far beyond apartment blocks.
At least $50 billion in commercial assets has been absorbed by the Russian state since 2022, The Moscow Times reported in July 2025, citing a report by the law firm Nektorov, Saveliev and Partners (NSP).
The seized wealth spans 102 major corporate cases.
Harvard University’s Andrei Yakovlev told Bloomberg at the time that “the Kremlin is solving two problems at once.”
Yakovlev explained to the publication that it brings in revenue and “reshapes the business elite so their fate is tied to the regime’s survival.”
Luhansk People’s Republic
Luhansk Oblast is the easternmost region of Ukraine and has been under Russian control since the invasion began in February 2022, when it was also unilaterally annexed by Russia.
In 2014, following the Russian annexation of Crimea, pro-Russian armed separatists seized government buildings in Luhansk and claimed part of the region as the Luhansk People’s Republic.
Sources: Ukrinform, The Moscow Times, Bloomberg
