Europol records about 60 signals of possible human trafficking with Ukrainians as victims

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Kateryna Pavlichenko said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"According to Europol, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, about 60 signals of possible human trafficking with Ukrainians as victims have been recorded. These signals came through Europol channels, particularly from Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Latvia, Romania, Poland, the Netherlands, and Germany. All this information is being checked and investigated, and not all of it is confirmed," Pavlichenko said.

The National Police units occasionally receive such signals, Pavlichenko said.

"The National Police of Ukraine cooperates with Europol and Interpol, and through the channels available in these organizations, certain information is exchanged. Such data also comes to the Ukrainian police through these channels," the deputy minister said.

Pavlichenko noted that sometimes Ukrainians residing abroad apply to diplomatic missions, and the information is sent from the diplomatic missions to the National Police of Ukraine for verification.

"When our citizens report to the local police of another country that they have been trafficked, we may not receive this information because it remains with the law enforcement agencies of the country where the person is located," she explained.

The deputy minister noted that everything that is committed on the territory of other states is under the jurisdiction of the police of a particular country.

"It is for this reason that citizens residing abroad, in the first instance, seek assistance from the police of the country in which they are currently based, if they have suffered from certain crimes. It is important to understand that information about a victim of human trafficking is protected by the state where this data is reported," Pavlichenko explained.

That is, according to her, other countries have their own laws that protect this information from dissemination, and there is a certain degree of confidentiality.

"Furthermore, if an individual has already been identified as a victim in a criminal case, this information is typically kept confidential during the investigation. This should also be considered," the deputy minister explained.

As reported, the Prosecutor General’s Office on July 30 revealed that 73 proceedings related to human trafficking have been registered in 2024.