Ukrainian officials have raised alarms about a Russian plan to settle over one million new residents in the occupied Donetsk region by 2045, which is reportedly based on a broader urban development plan sanctioned by Russian authorities. Petro Andriuszczenko, director of the Center for Occupation Studies, cites resistance movement reports from seized Mariupol, suggesting that this population increase aims to transform the demographic landscape of the area, which is currently home to significantly fewer people than projected.

Before 2014, the Donetsk region had a population of approximately 1.7 million across several key cities, but this number has dwindled to an estimated 900,000 to 1.1 million as a result of the ongoing conflict. This proposed plan, according to Andriuszczenko, appears to be politically motivated rather than based on actual demographic trends, indicating a strategy of mass resettlement and administrative registration to inflate population statistics.

If implemented, such plans could have profound implications for the region, including the potential alteration of the socio-political landscape and further entrenchment of Russian influence in occupied territories. The mention of nearly doubling the inhabitant numbers in these cities raises concerns over forced migrations and the well-being of current residents, who may face intensified pressure from occupying forces as a result of these developments.