FEBRUARY 24, 2025 — In this special investigation to mark three years of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, we looked into Russian interference in the world of Ukrainian heraldry.
Beyond the battlefield, a quieter but systematic effort has been underway to erase Ukrainian municipal symbols in occupied territories.
This process, which began in Crimea after 2014 and escalated following the 2022 invasion, has been driven by the Eurasian Armorial Center (EAAC) and key figures like Yury Rosich, a heraldist with ties to Russia’s Heraldic Council.
Under the pretext of standardizing local heraldry, Ukrainian colors and symbols have been stripped away, replaced with Kremlin-approved designs that are swiftly entered into the State Heraldic Register.
