By Olha Hembik | 2026-01-19

What was once a front line of shelling, mass graves and flattened neighborhoods may soon appear in tourist itineraries. Russian-installed authorities in occupied eastern Ukraine say they plan to guide visitors through the ruins of Donbas, presenting the destruction as "military glory" and the war as historical heritage.

Kirill Makarov, so-called deputy chairman of the DPR government, told RIA Novosti in November that the territory will roll out military tourism routes as part of Russia's national "Tourism and Hospitality" project. The tours will draw on narratives from World War II, the 1943 Donbas Liberation Operation and Russia's current war against Ukraine.

In 2026, the DPR's tourism sector is set to receive more than 1 billion RUB ($11 million) in investment, Makarov said. He added that the final amount would be calculated at the end of the year and could be higher.

Makarov said authorities have already created a "large interdepartmental headquarters for tourism" to coordinate the effort. Planned routes will feature "sites of military glory" and "key exhibits."

Officials are still reviewing the region's tourism infrastructure, according to Makarov.

"We're starting to look at what needs to be restored first," he said, acknowledging that "some hotel rooms and accommodations were destroyed as a result of the fighting."

Occupation marker

In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged businesses to invest in tourism in the occupied Donbas, saying "attractive conditions have been created" there.

Oleksandr Antonyuk, a Ukrainian political consultant and serviceman, said the development of tourist sites, particularly monuments and memorials on Ukrainian territory, functions as a marker of Russian occupation rather than economic recovery.

Nothing would prevent declaring a city like Bakhmut, which Russian troops leveled, a new hero city, the expert explained.

"This will strengthen the formation of a narrative about a war with the West, a war with NATO, and the liberation of an 'originally Russian city,' of Russian territory," he told Kontur.

Antonyuk said military tourism in the occupied territories aims to construct a preferred historical image of Russia as a liberator. These narratives are intended for future generations of Russian citizens and for foreign partners, particularly China and Iran, to reinforce the image of Russia as a victor.

One potential centerpiece is the Saur-Mohyla burial mound in Ukraine's Donetsk Region. Once a memorial to Soviet victory over Nazism in World War II, the site now also honors the "heroes of Novorossiya" -- fighters from Russia's hybrid forces that entered Donbas in 2014 -- according to researchers at TextyOrgUa.

Russian authorities have turned the site into a "symbol of the new struggle of Russia and the 'people of Donbas' against the 'Nazis' in Ukraine," they said in April.

Historical continuity

Experts from Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation said Russia is unveiling monuments and memorials en masse across the occupied territories while organizing exhibitions that elevate participants in the war against Ukraine to cult status.

The goal, the center said, is to create the "illusion of historical continuity," portraying the current war as a continuation of what it describes as the "sacred mission" of Soviet soldiers. In this framing, the occupation of Ukrainian territory becomes part of a "grand history."

Vadym Pozdnyakov, co-founder of the Decolonization.Ukraine project, said the tourist sites are meant to mark the territories as a "shared space with Russia."

Pozdnyakov monitors efforts in Ukrainian-controlled areas to remove Russian markers from public spaces, rename streets and dismantle Soviet monuments in line with decommunization laws and bans on Russian imperial propaganda.

"These markers need to be cleaned away so that Russians are not drawn here. Everything that remains Russian could have been removed long ago after so many years of war with the Russian Federation," he told Kontur.

Once the occupied territories are liberated, the same fate will await the tourist sites and monuments erected by Russian forces and their proxies.

Money laundering

It remains unclear which specific locations tourists will visit in the DPR, according to a December report in The Times. Authorities have also not explained how they plan to guarantee visitor safety. Chronic shortages of running water and gasoline in the region further complicate plans for rapid tourism development.

Antonyuk said the push for tourism shows Russia's limited willingness and ability to rebuild the occupied territories.

"Russia is not prepared to invest there in the coming decades. And that means that Russia has secured these territories through propaganda but is not yet confident that it will be able to hold them for a long time," he said.

He pointed to Kaliningrad as a precedent, noting that the Soviet Union only began rebuilding the former German city in the 1960s and 1970s, once it was confident no one would demand its return.

According to Antonyuk, the primary purpose of military tourism is to impose Russia's version of history -- and to generate profit.

"It's quite convenient to create a gray zone in Donbas to launder money while creating the desired narrative," he said.

Mikhailo Strelnikov, founder of the Museum of Victory over Despotism in Poland, said he doubts funds earmarked for tourism in Donbas will be used for their stated purpose.

"We understand who is in charge of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," he said, referring to Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of the DPR. "He won't miss the opportunity to put a couple million in his pocket."

Strelnikov cited Donetsk's ongoing water crisis as an example, saying funds allocated by Moscow to repair pipelines were stolen.

Meanwhile, Russian-appointed Mariupol Mayor Oleh Morgun has said authorities expect to attract 1 million tourists by 2030.

Mariupol's legitimate city council, now operating from Dnipro, condemned the plans, saying they turn the city's destruction and mass graves into a propaganda platform and a source of profit for occupying authorities.