News from occupied Ukraine: Russian general killed in Crimea, 8 children brought back, millions of dollars in unpaid wages
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This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin.
Key news as of April 4:
- In occupied Luhansk, the scale of forced mobilization increases, Ukraine's authorities report
- Ukraine brings back eight children from Russian-occupied territories
- Russian general reported killed in An-26 crash in Crimea
- Ukraine strikes airfield in occupied Crimea, destroys An-72 aircraft and Orion drone base
- Ukraine denies Russia's claims of fully capturing Luhansk Oblast
- Man in Crimea arrested for allegedly supporting Ukrainian military strikes
- Russia not paying salaries to employees of industrial facilities across occupied Ukraine
Local residents in Russian-occupied Luhansk have reported an increase in the scale of forced conscription into the Russian army, Ukraine's authorities reported on April 2–3.
Oleksii Kharchenko, the head of Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, said that since the beginning of April, the number of police patrols in public places has increased, and the city bus stations have been blocked in several areas.
"Everyone — drivers, passengers, pedestrians — is being thoroughly checked," he said. "Special attention is given to individuals under 30-years-old, whom the Russians plan to throw into meat assaults."
He also added that representatives from Russian law enforcement agencies conduct door-to-door visits that include mandatory questioning of residents about their neighbors.
In occupied territories, Ukrainians are forced to take Russian passports and register for military service, which in turn allows Russia to draft them to fight against their own country.
Artem Kariakin, a Ukrainian soldier and former partisan who resided in Kadiivka, Luhansk Oblast, from the time it was occupied by Russia in 2014 until 2021, told the Kyiv Independent that Russia is compelling Ukrainians in the occupied regions to fight against their own people not only because of a shortage of soldiers, but also for far darker reasons.
"In Donbas, unfortunately, (many families) have a family member who was a soldier mobilized into the Russian army and killed by Ukrainian troops," he said.
The mobilization of civilians violates the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and is regarded as a war crime under international humanitarian law.
Ukraine brings back 8 children from Russian-occupied territories
Eight children and teenagers have been rescued from Russian occupation over the past week, Save Ukraine, a Ukrainian humanitarian NGO, announced on April 2.
"Yet thousands of children remain under occupation. There, they are forced to stay silent, to conform, and are being prepared for (fighting for Russia in the) war. But we won't stop," the organization's founder, Mykola Kuleba, said.
He did not specify which Russian-held Ukrainian territories the children were brought back from.
Among the rescued children is 14-year-old Zoriana, who was separated from her father by Russian forces. Her father was illegally stripped of his documents and deported, accused of being a threat to Russia's security.
Read more in the article.
Russian general reported killed in An-26 crash in Crimea
Russian Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Otroshchenko was one of those aboard the An-26 transport plane that crashed in Russian-occupied Crimea on March 31, BBC's Russian Service reported, citing unnamed sources in the Russian Northern Fleet.
The plane had crashed into the mountains of the occupied peninsula, killing 29 military personnel on board, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
According to the BBC, Otroshchenko's death was separately confirmed by a relative of another victim and reported in local Telegram chats, but has not been officially confirmed.
Otroshchenko served as commander of the Northern Fleet's air corps, a position he had held since 2013, and took part in Russian operations in Syria.
A criminal case has been opened into the crash under Article 351 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers violations of flight rules or preparation regulations, the Russian Investigative Committee said.
Ukraine strikes airfield in occupied Crimea, destroys An-72 aircraft and Orion drone base
Ukrainian forces, with the help of military intelligence (HUR) , struck multiple Russian military targets at the Kirovske airfield in occupied Crimea overnight on April 2, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said.
The strike destroyed a Russian An-72P patrol aircraft and a site used to prepare Orion strike and reconnaissance drones for missions, according to the statement.
Read more about the attack and watch video in the Kyiv Independent's article.
Ukraine denies Russia's claims of fully capturing Luhansk Oblast
The Ukrainian military on April 1 denied Russia's claim that its troops have fully taken control of Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine.
Russia currently occupies the majority of the region, with the city of Luhansk and the regional government controlled by Kremlin-installed proxies. But a small parcel of land on the western border of Luhansk Oblast remains contested.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on April 1 that its forces had "completed" the occupation of Luhansk Oblast.
The Ukrainian military dismissed the claim as propaganda.
Ukrainian troops are "holding the last lines of defense in the region," Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade said in a post on Telegram.
Read the full story.
Man in Crimea arrested for allegedly supporting Ukrainian military strikes
A 55-year-old man was arrested for allegedly supporting Ukrainian military strikes on Crimea, the Investigative Committee of Russia in Crimea reported on March 31.
The Committee claimed the man publicly expressed his support for the Ukrainian armed forces' missile strikes on facilities of a fuel and energy complex in the city of Feodosia in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The man was detained by officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Black Sea Fleet.
Proceedings against the man were initiated under the article of the Russian Criminal Code regarding "public justification of terrorism."
Crimea, which Russia invaded in 2014 and has occupied since, has been a key staging ground for Moscow's military operations. Ukrainian forces have increasingly targeted military assets on the peninsula, aiming to degrade Russian air defenses, naval capabilities, and supply routes.
Russia not paying salaries to employees of industrial facilities across occupied Ukraine
For several months, Russia has not been paying salaries to industrial facilities employees living in the Russian occupation, the National Resistance Center of Ukraine reported on March 30.
The center said there are millions of dollars in unpaid wages at enterprises that were owned by Ukraine before the Russian occupation in 2014 and 2022.
"Payments, when they occur, are sporadic and selective," it added.
In the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Berdyansk Sea Trade Port, which has been under Russian control since 2022, has recorded wage arrears totaling over 20,5 million rubles ($255,611) for 268 employees.
In Luhansk Oblast, the former state-owned Ukrainian enterprises Luhanskvuhillia, which were reorganized by Russia into Tsentrugol and Antratsyt, have incurred approximately 169 million rubles ($2,107,795) in debts to employees.
In some mines, like Dovzhanska-Kapitalna, workers report not having received wages since December 2025, the center said.
In Luhansk Oblast, employees at Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant, one of the region's largest industrial enterprises, are earning wages below the regional average. The plant's operations have reportedly been halted, and production is nearing a total shutdown.
Note from the author:
Hi! This is Yuliia.
Reporting about the Russian-occupied territories is not easy, as journalists cannot safely travel there and report from the ground because of the threat of being detained and killed.
But we at the Kyiv Independent are trying to bring more news about it in whichever way possible. If you have any questions regarding the occupied territories, write to my email address, and we would be happy to answer them.
