DNIPRO, Ukraine—Russia is tightening its hold over occupied areas of southern Ukraine, putting in pro-Moscow leaders, trying to find dissenters and dismantling Ukrainian state establishments.
In the metropolis of Melitopol, like many others in the space, pink, blue and white Russian flags now fly atop public buildings. Russian safety forces patrol the streets and troopers man checkpoints, inspecting individuals’s identification paperwork and looking out by the contents of their cell phones, residents say.
