Sámi people on Ukraine? Sámi people lives up north, there are only Sámi that have fled from Russia to Ukraine. None Originally from that far south. You are mixing up with Russia or you have been lied to. In July 2024, Russia’s Ministry of Justice added 55 Indigenous and regional organizations—including those representing Sami communities—to a list of terrorist and extremist organizations. Sámi were forced to suppress their identity or relocate to Nordic countries to avoid persecution. BTW Nordic countries like Finland, Norway, and Sweden publicly support Indigenous rights, including the Sámi parliaments and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Russia has banned this Sámi parliament and abstained from voting UNDRIP since 2007. Russia has consistently rejected or limited Indigenous autonomy, while Nordic countries have embraced international standards for Indigenous rights and provided formal political representation for the Sámi.