In the occupied territories, the Kremlin is replacing civilian officials with militants
The Russian Federation has begun a large-scale rotation of leadership personnel in the occupation administrations in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Instead of local collaborators, key positions are increasingly being filled by combatants who have undergone special training under the “Time of Heroes” program.
According to the Center for National Resistance, by 2026 this process had become systematic and encompassed most of the temporarily occupied communities.
Moscow is deliberately replacing civilian administrators with individuals focused on unconditional obedience to military orders and strict discipline.
“After returning from the front lines, military personnel were sent to study at the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, which trains managerial staff for government bodies. Afterward, they began to be appointed to leadership positions,” the NRC report notes.
Currently, more than 80 graduates of these special courses have already been integrated into the administrative system in the occupied territories.
The Kremlin considers local collaborators insufficiently loyal or ineffective under prolonged martial law, so it relies on personnel tested by war.
“More than 80 such ‘graduates’ have already taken up positions in the Russian administrative system. The main target is the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, where the Kremlin is gradually replacing local collaborators whom it considers unreliable,” the Resistance emphasizes.
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