Chechen, Central Asian mobs scramble to seize criminal control over occupied areas of Ukraine

Ethnic mafia groups originally based in Russia are gaining momentum in setting up operations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, mainly littoral areas.

That’s according to Pavlo Lysyanskyi, founder of the Eastern Human Rights Defense Group, who reported this on Facebook, Ukrinform saw.

"After the 2022 invasion, Russia went on to populate the occupied territories with representatives of the ethnic groups that had earlier settled in Russia. First of all, this is due to the fact that Russia massively attracts people from Central Asia to engage in urban construction contracts. In addition to migrant workers, representatives of the Kadyrov clan began to build up their presence in the occupied territories," the report says.

Representatives from Central Asia (mainly Tajiks) started to form their diasporas, and along with that, gangs started emerging, engaged in racketeering that targets the Tajiks.

The Chechens act according to the same principle, but they are primarily part of Russia’s invasion force.

Currently, ethnic mafias inhabit Mariupol, Berdyansk, Primorsk, Urzuf, as well as Luhansk. Ethnic mafias are trying to seize control of local markets and construction contracts.

As noted, urban construction in the occupied territories is currently overseen by Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnulin and Minister of Construction and Housing Irek Faizulin (both ethnic Tatars), who are seen as the main lobbyists on the issue of migrants.

Currently, representatives from Central Asia are being brought in en masse for construction works. According to local sources, the Tajiks are paid 30,000 rubles, while employment paperwork lays down 100,000 rubles, so 70,000 rubles goes to kickbacks.

This situation, which has been developing for several years, created a solid foundation for the build up of the ethnic mobs, which currently spread its operations to drug trafficking, robberies, racketeering, and agrarian business.

At the moment, ethnic groups are terrorizing the local population. Crimes committed by ethnic groups are on the rise.

"That's what it is, the ‘Russian world,’” concluded the rights defender.