Before forcibly transporting Ukrainians to Russia, FSB filtering out war veterans, activists

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Liudmyla Denisova, wrote about this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

The ombudsperson has noted that the Russian invaders continue to forcibly deport Ukrainians from the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas to Russia, as Nazi Germany once did.

"Before being sent off, Ukrainian citizens are forced to go through so-called filtration camps, which operate in three stages. The first is a preliminary interview and phone contacts check. The second stage is an examination by social workers and medics. In addition, the FSB operatives compile lists of ‘unreliable’ persons, identifying citizens who participated in the anti-terrorist operation / joint forces operation in Donbas, as well as the Ukrainian military and law enforcement officers," the statement reads.

Denisova clarified that only after that are the Ukrainian citizens sent to economically depressed areas of Russia, in particular, the northern regions and the island of Sakhalin.

"Ukrainians are banned from leaving Russian regions for the next two years. There is no information about those who failed to pass the interview," Denisova said.

She noted that such a filtration camp had been set up in Dokuchaevsk, Donetsk region, and that civilians were being sent there en masse, with their IDs being seized.

Denisova clarified that the forcible movement of Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories is a gross violation of Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Victims of War of 1949 and Article 85 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions, Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, Convention on Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on the Exercise of Children's Rights, and Law of Ukraine On Child Protection, as well as violate constitutional rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens.

"I call on the international community to take into account these mass abductions of Ukrainian citizens when determining the scope of sanctions to be imposed on the terrorist state of Russia," Denisova wrote.

As reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine on February 24 and launched a large-scale invasion.