The representative of the United States called on the world to document cases of filtering and forced deportation of Ukrainians carried out by the Russians.
The Russian Federation organized the activities of at least 18 filtration camps in border areas with Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territories of our state. This was stated by the deputy head of the US mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Courtney Ostrien, at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.
“According to our assessment, Russia, with the help of proxy groups, is almost certainly using the so-called filtering operations to carry out the detentions and deportations of Ukrainian civilians to Russia,” Ostryen said.
She added that, according to the information received according to the data, the official representatives of the Russian Federation began to prepare for filtering on the territory of Ukraine even before the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24. In particular, they could create lists of people they were going to detain in advance.
“Russian officials likely created lists of Ukrainian civilians deemed a threat to Russia's control over Ukraine, including anyone with pro-Ukrainian views, such as politicians and activists, as well as law enforcement officials, for detention and screening. At least 18 places of filtration along both sides of the Ukrainian-Russian border have already been identified,” the diplomat said.
Read also: There is no unequivocal answer to the question of whether the world has understood the tragedy of the “filtration” of Ukrainians
In her speech, Ostryen mentioned several stories of people who managed to survive after undergoing filtering measures and being deported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
“Their stories paint a terrible picture of Russia's filtering operations and its systematic process of forcible displacement of civilians of Ukraine to Russia, often to remote regions of the Far East,” she noted.
With reference to eyewitnesses, the US representative emphasized that the occupiers forcibly take Ukrainian residents to temporary filtering points located, in particular, in schools, cultural centers, sports halls or other buildings in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or in Russia.
She explained that in such places, enemy security forces harshly interrogate the civilian population, often also conducting searches and beatings. After that, people are forcibly taken to different parts of the Russian Federation, confiscating all Ukrainian documents and often not informing about the destination.
Courtney Ostrien called for the documentation of similar cases in order to further bring to justice all who give such orders or participate in their execution.
“We must do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine has the resources necessary to repel Russian aggression. Only by stopping Russia's aggression, Ukraine will provide those forcibly deported to Russia with the opportunity to return home and rebuild their lives,” concluded the deputy head of the US mission to the OSCE.
Earlier it was reported that Since February 24, the Russian occupiers have deported 2.3 million people from Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation. 365,000 of them are children.
Read also: With the start of a full-scale war, mass filtering prevents Ukrainians from moving between the TOT and free Ukraine
When, before the invasion, on February 22, Western intelligence warned of plans by the Russians to create infiltration camps, to many these signals seemed to thicken colors. However, the reality turned out to be scarier than the warning. How and where does the filtering take place? Why do the Russians need it? What are the primary expectations of the occupiers from the “filtering of civilians”? Has the world noticed this tragedy of Ukrainians? Read the answers in the article by Oleksandr Neberikut and Oleksandr Klyuzhev “Occupied. How Ukrainians are put through the filtration camps”.
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