From April 1, 2025, Russians can buy secondary housing in Ukrainian cities on a mortgage. And not only in occupied and completely destroyed cities, but also in those controlled by Ukraine. Interestingly, such a mortgage is offered on preferential terms. At first glance, this initiative looks like complete stupidity... But at the same time, it is all quite serious. The relevant information is posted on the official websites of the Russian state authorities. In which Ukrainian cities can you buy preferential mortgage housing, who can buy it, why the Russian authorities included Ukrainian cities completely destroyed by the Russian army, where there is not a single surviving building, in the list, and why the authorities of the aggressor state need it - in the material "Apostrophe".
The operator of state housing support programs, DOM.RF, recently published on its website a list of settlements where Russian citizens can purchase housing on the secondary market by taking out a mortgage loan under the Family Mortgage program. Moreover, family mortgages are issued on preferential terms at a rate of 6% per annum, while the Central Bank of Russia's rate is currently 21%. Families with at least one child under the age of 6 can take advantage of the program. It will be possible to purchase housing in an apartment building no older than 20 years old that has not been declared dilapidated.
The list of settlements was compiled based on data from the Unified Housing Construction Information System "nash.dom.rf". It includes cities in which two or fewer apartment buildings were being built as of the beginning of 2025.
The list includes 904 settlements. In addition to purely Russian regions, the list includes occupied regions of Ukraine such as Crimea and unoccupied regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions.
And what's interesting here is that this list includes completely destroyed cities: Bakhmut, Soledar, Avdiivka, Kurakhove, Volnovakha, Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, as well as Ukrainian cities that the Russians do not control, including: Pokrovsk (the Russians call it Krasnoarmiysk), Myrnograd (Dymitrov), Dobropillya, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and even Kherson.
The list also includes undestroyed occupied cities: Donetsk, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Makiivka, and others. But Mariupol is not on this list. The preferential mortgage does not apply to it.
The fact that the Russian authorities have included Ukrainian cities in the state mortgage program is quite understandable. Putin considers Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia regions and Crimea to be Russian regions. But it is not entirely clear why the list for mortgages includes settlements that were completely destroyed by the Russians themselves. What kind of mortgage can there be if there is practically no housing left suitable for mortgages?
"You shouldn't underestimate the Russian bureaucracy, when the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, " Russian opposition politician and deputy of the State Duma of Russia of the 5th and 6th convocations Ilya Ponomarev explains the logic of the Russian government to "Apostrophe." "The official version says that these cities have been miraculously "liberated." And since they have been "liberated," you can stop by."
"The responsibility to find housing lies with the borrower. If a person finds housing in which he wants to live, for example, in Bakhmut, then there are no problems, the bank will issue a mortgage. Dom.RF is engaged in state refinancing of mortgage programs. That is, banks work directly with borrowers, and Dom.RF reimburses banks for loans. This is an order for banks to lend to people who come to buy something in these cities at a preferential rate," Ponomarev continues.
The Russian opposition politician emphasizes that in general this reflects the general line of the Russian authorities, aimed at moving people from outside to the occupied territories.
"I just saw the rating of Russian cities. So, in 2024, the fastest growing "Russian" city was Melitopol. Its population officially increased from 140 thousand to 250 thousand since the occupation. It is clear that it was not destroyed. But this clearly reflects what they want to do. In addition, objectively, if someone comes somewhere, they themselves will begin to equip the space around them, and this will accelerate some kind of recovery there," says Ilya Ponomarev.
According to the expert, there is no problem for Russians from the hinterland to go and live in the destroyed Bakhmut.
"They are used to existing in such conditions, because everything there is in ruins. For example, this list includes settlements on Sakhalin. That is, Toretsk and Sakhalin in one bottle. And especially when there is constant brainwashing on TV, it is not very difficult to deceive a person. In Russia, there are many people, let's say, who are not indifferent. They will be told: "Look, you have the opportunity to get a three-room apartment for $ 1,000, but you also need to help your homeland. You will feel like a hero. Not only will you go to restore the city, they will also give you money." I think that such people will be found," Ilya Ponomarev summed up.
The words of the Russian oppositionist are confirmed by the Russian pro-Kremlin publication Kommersant. According to it, state banks are already developing mortgage lending in the “DPR”, “LPR”, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. According to the publication, as of the beginning of 2025, four Russian banks participated in the state program of preferential mortgages in these regions, which have so far issued about 1,500 loans worth more than 7 billion rubles. Meanwhile, Kommersant claims that the results are still lower than in other regions.
By the way, citizens of Ukraine who live in the occupied regions cannot get a preferential mortgage. And it’s not even a matter of having a Russian passport. As the Russian portal Frank media notes, Russian banks have proven to be extremely meticulous in terms of the residence permits of potential borrowers and do not lend to people with permanent registration in the so-called “LPR”, “DPR”, as well as Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.
Another obstacle that may become insurmountable is employment and income verification. Most banks surveyed by Frank Media are only willing to consider clients with a work record from a Russian employer.
