Russia has declared hundreds of hotels in occupied Ukraine ‘ownerless.’ Dozens have been taken over — but one Ukrainian hotelier is fighting back.

Russian authorities have classified over 7,000 private and commercial properties in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region as "ownerless," including 521 hotels and resorts, according to Reuters. At least 77 of these hotels have already changed hands, with 20 of them transferred to government entities. Ukrainian citizens must obtain Russian citizenship to confirm their property rights in the occupied territories.

Denys Katyukha, a Ukrainian hotelier, owned the Admiral hotel on the Sea of Azov but was forced to flee to Germany in 2022. Russian authorities gave him three days to prove his ownership, which he could not do as his father's Ukrainian passport and the hotel's documents were rejected. Consequently, the Admiral hotel was taken over by the Russian state organization "Resorts of Zaporizhzhia Region" and continued operating.

Katyukha filed a lawsuit against Russia for $5.1 million in damages, but Russia does not recognize Ukrainian courts' jurisdiction. He also filed a claim with the Register of Damage for Ukraine in The Hague, which has received over 195,000 claims from people affected by Russia's actions in the war. However, there is no mechanism in place to distribute compensation.