Russian-controlled part of Donbas reportedly in deepening crisis

Only about a third of residents in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk have jobs, while the rest remain without a steady income, the National Resistance Center (NRC) reports.

Ukrainian intelligence data indicate that more than 3,000 businesses in occupied Donbas have completely stopped operating.

“No more than 30 percent of the population is working, mostly in temporary or low-paid jobs linked to Russian occupation structures,” the report reads.

The Russian authorities are effectively forcing people to work on so-called “military-reconstruction” projects. These include building residential and utility structures, repairing and maintaining infrastructure, and working on defensive facilities.

“Salaries are often delayed or paid in goods. Factories and mines are closing en masse, equipment is being shipped to Russia, and the ‘laid-off’ workers aren’t even counted in unemployment statistics,” the Center says.

The Russian administration has destroyed the region’s industrial base, leaving people with no choice but to work under duress or survive on meager payments.

“Occupied Donbas has effectively become a zone of social decline, where Russia has destroyed industry, the economy, and any prospects for the local population,” the report reads.

Since this summer, the occupied Donetsk region has also faced a critical shortage of water, both drinking and technical.