Digital Occupation: Russia’s System of Information Control in the Occupied Territories of Ukraine

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2022 initiated not only full-scale military operations, but also a qualitatively new phase of information control in the occupied territories. Classical instruments of censorship, propaganda, and repression were combined with digital tools, leading to the emergence of a coherent system for managing information, communication, and social consciousness.

On the basis of analytical materials published within Disinfo Digest and ongoing analyses by Fundacja INFO OPS Polska concerning the Ukrainian information space in mid-2025, it is possible to identify an emerging model of Russian activities which, for the purposes of this text, is referred to as “digital occupation.” This is not a normative concept nor a category of international law, but an analytical term describing the coordinated use of digital technologies, control over information infrastructure, surveillance tools, and mechanisms of indoctrination under conditions of military occupation. Unlike classical propaganda, the aim of this model is not merely narrative dominance, but the long-term informational subordination of the civilian population and the systematic restriction of access to alternative sources of knowledge, communication, and cultural identity.

1. Technological Tools as the Foundation of Control

The foundation of digital occupation is the systemic dependence of residents of occupied territories on Russian communication tools and information infrastructure. The most striking example is the mandatory or quasi-mandatory introduction of Russian messaging applications, among which the MAX communicator—used inter alia in Crimea—has particular significance.

This application, formally presented as a neutral communication tool, possesses a broad range of system permissions, including access to the microphone, camera, contacts, and user files. In practice, this renders it an instrument of continuous surveillance, enabling the collection of personal data, the mapping of contact networks, and the monitoring of residents’ communication activity. Such solutions correspond to the Russian model of “lawful surveillance,” previously implemented, inter alia, through the SORM system; however, this is the first time they have been deployed on such a scale against a civilian population in occupied territories.

In parallel, the occupation authorities pursue the physical elimination of alternative sources of information. Equipment enabling the reception of Ukrainian television is confiscated, and residents are compelled to use Russian satellite receivers and broadcasting networks. As a result, an information monopoly emerges in which the only legally and technically accessible content consists of messages aligned with the Kremlin’s narrative.

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