The russian authorities have been directed to build russian identity and increase the use of the russian language in the territory it temporarily occupies in Ukraine, according to a decree signed by russian President Vladimir Putin, published on November 25, 2025, according to the UK Defense Intelligence.
The document, titled "Strategy of russia's national policy in the period to 2036", highlights a continued russification policy, forcing russian language, identity and culture on to the residents of sovereign Ukrainian territory. The policy forms part of russia's longstanding efforts to extirpate Ukrainian culture and identity, and delegitimise Ukrainian statehood.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence Reports on Cold Winds and Cold Wars: russia's Drone Tempo Falls in October
Russia now defines both temporarily occupied and unoccupied Ukrainian territory in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, as well as Crimea, as being part of the russian Federation. This directly contradicts russia's own formal recognition of Ukraine's independence and sovereignty following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The document's reference to these sovereign Ukrainian oblasts as 'historical territories of the russian state' emphasises the overtly imperialist aspect of russia's continuing efforts to subjugate Ukraine.
As Defense Express previously reported, since launching the illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the russian state has increasingly sought to control, censor and constrict its domestic information environment.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence: russia Advances Internet Kill-Switch Mechanisms Amid War Pressure
