Russia wants to remove references to Ukraine in the areas it has taken.
Russia decided in late March to focus on the east instead of taking over the capital of Ukraine, after failing to take over the capital in its first attempt.
Fear, intimidation, and changes to their ways of life are what those living there have to contend with.
In the southern cities of Kherson and Melitopol, Russia began giving people Russian passports.
The foreign ministry of Ukraine called it a gross violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It said that illegal passportization was taking place in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, as well as occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, which were recognized as independent states by Russia.
Russia's goal is to conquest of Ukrainian territories for their further occupation and integration into Russia's legal, political and economic space, according to the Ukrainian government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a system to fast-track Russian citizenship for people in occupied Ukranian.
The ruble has been introduced to the Kherson region and other cities in the east and south in order to replace the Ukrainian hryvnia.
Russian mayors have been replaced by Ukrainians.
The mayor of Kherson was taken into custody. It installed a new mayor after abducting the incumbent.
An official in Kherson's new administration told the news agency that preparations had begun for a referendum on joining Russia.
The US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe warned in May that further Russian annexation could be seen as a betrayal of democratic or electoral legitimacy.
People who left the cities reported a heavy Russian troop presence and said they were tortured after speaking out.
The people in Russian-occupied areas are afraid of the soldiers, so they don't go outside.
Reports from Ukrainians in Russia-occupiedUkraine are becoming less frequent as Russia imposes brutal new laws and takes over the internet.
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion, there have been changes.
Russian authorities threatened to cut off water and electricity supplies if there were more protests, according to a report by The Guardian.
Russian officials in occupied areas began replacing Ukrainian media with their own in April.
Russian soldiers were patrolling the southeastern city of Berdyansk and local radio stations were playing pro-Russia music.
50 employees of a Ukrainian news outlet were taken into custody by the Russians for five hours.
The journalist said that Russia threatened them to reveal the details of pro-Ukraine activists and soldiers in the area, as well as to put Russian propaganda on their stations.
In April, a school principal told CNN that she and her daughter were held at gun point during a search for textbooks.
This is the new way of life for those left in Russia-occupiedUkraine.
The head of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine said in June that many of those who remain are there because they can't leave.
Many of the people who have remained in their homes were not able to leave.
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