US sanctions Russia over filtration operatios, torture, other abuses in Ukraine

09.12.2022 23:59

Ukrinform

The U.S. government has announced the introduction of sanctions against high-ranking representatives of the Russian government, as well as individuals involved in conducting filtration measures in occupied Ukraine, torture, forced relocation of children, conducting pseudo-referendums and other crimes.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said this in a statement published on Friday, Ukrinform reports.

"In the months following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia's forces and their proxies began instituting a process known as 'filtration,' whereby Ukraine's civilians are subjected to interrogations and searches and forced to hand over personal data, nominally in order to ascertain any connections to Ukraine's military or government," the statement said.

The occupying forces also resort to deportations, disappearances, and torture in connection with filtration, and areas adjacent to the grounds of one filtration center display characteristics of mass graves, the document said.

In this regard, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four individuals that were directly involved in Russia's filtration operations, two representatives of the so-called "DNR", as well as the Russian Central Election Commission.

The list of restrictions includes Russian presidential administration officials Oleg Nesterov and Yevgeniy Kim who were directly involved in the planning for and implementation of filtration points in Russia-occupied Ukraine. In addition, sanctions have been imposed against Marina Sereda, who worked with the so-called "DNR", as well as Aleksey Muratov, who coordinated filtration point operations with so-called DNR leader Denis Pushilin.

The Department of State also sanctioned Russian nationals Ochur-Suge Mongush and Lyudmila Zaitseva, both of whom were reportedly implicated in human rights abuses against civilians in Ukraine. According to reports, Mongush engaged in torture while Zaitseva was involved in the kidnapping and forced relocation of children from Ukraine.

OFAC also sanctioned Russia's CEC, alongside its 15 members. In September 2022, Russia's CEC helped oversee and monitor sham referendums held in areas of Russia-controlled Ukraine that were rife with incidents of clear voter coercion and intimidation.