Newsweek: As Russia mulls "adaptation centres", Ukraine vows to fight assimilation

A Ukrainian ministry says it'll do all it can to help civilians return home who've been forcibly deported to Russia in what it's calling an effort by the Kremlin to strip them of their cultural identity.

Ukraine's Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories on Wednesday [August 31] raised the alarm in response to a report by a US think tank detailing Russia's efforts to forcibly assimilate Ukrainians caught behind enemy lines, Newsweek reports.

Following reports of Ukrainians being forced to relocate to sometimes remote areas of Russia, the research raises concerns the Kremlin is seeking to change the cultural makeup of Ukraine.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely setting conditions for the coerced cultural assimilation of displaced Ukrainians in Russia to erase their Ukrainian cultural identity," reads the report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The ministry's statement in reaction to the report said that occupying Russian troops have "forcibly deported tens of thousands" of Ukrainians to Russia. Of those, 7,000 were children, the ministry said, citing National Information Bureau figures.

Since Russia launched its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, reports have emerged of Ukrainian citizens being sent to "filtration camps" where they are scrutinised for any ties to the military or government. Their Ukrainian passports are replaced with Russian ones before being relocated.

The ISW report draws on recent remarks by Igor Barinov, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, calling for setting up "adaptation centres" for "migrants" living in Russia.

Barinov told Putin that the Russian economy needs "an influx of foreign labour", according to a transcript of the meeting posted on the Kremlin's website. But Barinov said that bringing in foreign workers could "change the ethnocultural landscape in certain territories" and trigger a backlash. He added that "ethnic crime is growing".

The solution, Barinov said, was the creation of adaptation centres, where migrants would learn about Russia's customs and culture while getting legal and psychological support.

Putin expressed his support for the idea, saying the work should begin in the "homeland of potential migrants".

"Programs at so-called adaptation centres would likely serve as a form of cultural reprogramming to erase Ukrainian cultural identity from displaced Ukrainians who either fled to Russia or were deported by Russian authorities," reads the ISW report.

The report states that previous decrees signed by Putin and coming legislation will likely form the legal framework for transferring Ukrainians to Russia and "Russifying Ukraine". Adaptation centres would add a social dimension to the legal framework, according to the report.

The report states that many displaced Ukrainians are not in Russia voluntarily, and the Kremlin has forcibly transferred at least 1,000 children from Mariupol, a war-torn city in southern Ukraine, in violation of international human rights law.

Ukraine's Ministry of Reintegration said in the statement it is working on routes to other countries that deported Ukrainians can use to flee Russia and return home.

Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy prime minister of Ukraine and reintegration minister, said in the statement that Russia will be held accountable for what she called international crimes against the civilian population.

"You can force a person to leave his city or even the country," she said. "But the Russian authorities will not be able to force Ukrainians to forget who they are. We will try to find and return home all our citizens and fight for everyone."

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian government for comment.