Ukrainians forcibly relocated to Russia. There are also those who leave voluntarily
Ukrainians speak that, Russia soldiers will take refuge in besieged cities and found in bunkers, Russia interrogated before relocating to the territory
At a time when fighting is intensifying in southeastern Ukraine Russia There are reports that Ukrainian forces are forcibly relocating Ukrainians to Russia.
RFE / RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service Ukrainians in Mariupol and He spoke with refugee activists in Astrakhan, southern Russia. The refugees said they were forcibly taken to Russia.
Mostly from eastern Ukraine and they go from the south
It comes from the words of those who want to keep their identities secret in order to protect themselves from pressure that, Russian forces have deported thousands of Ukrainians to Russia against their will. Those people are in the east of Ukraine and in the south are Russian-controlled territories.
Ukraine Officials have also accused Russian forces of evacuating hundreds of thousands of citizens from destroyed cities, taking their documents to “filtration camps” in separatist-held areas of Ukraine, and then to Russia. Most of them are said to be from Mariupol. The port city has been under siege since Moscow began occupying Ukraine on February 24, and Russia controls most of its troops.
Russian officials say more than 674,000 Ukrainians have been relocated to Russia since the start of the war, but claim that they left the separatist-held or war-torn areas of Ukraine voluntarily.
The allegations are refuted
Face-to-face interviews with media outlets such as RFE / RL, The Guardian, The Washington Post, CNN, and the BBC, as well as open-source satellite imagery, refute Russia’s claims. Ukrainians speak that, Russian troops will take refuge in besieged cities and found in bunkers and interrogated before being transferred to Russian territory.
Astrakhan officials say more than 400 refugees have arrived from Ukraine. Their Donetsk and He reportedly left Mariupol, a separatist-held area in Luhansk.
Ukraine The so-called “filtration camps” are data collection centers for Russian troops. Before Ukrainian refugees are sent to Russia, fingerprints and pictures are taken at these centers. Some information according tophones, other electronic devices, as well as passwords are taken from Ukrainians.
The example of Chechnya
Russia’s state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper wrote in March that, Thousands of Ukrainians are checked in the village of Bezimenne in eastern Ukraine. The newspaper said that measures were taken to stop “Ukrainian nationalists trying to cross into Russia in the guise of refugees.”
Ukraine Officials compare the camps to military campaigns in Chechnya in the 1990s. At that time, thousands of Chechens were interrogated in temporary camps, and many disappeared.
President of Ukraine Volodimir Zelenski Lithuania on April 12 parliamentIn a video message, he said that hundreds of thousands of people had already been deported:
“They are placed in special filtration camps. Documents are taken. They are interrogated and humiliated. It is unknown at this time what he did to cause the deaths.
Volunteers
However, there are those who left Ukraine for Russia voluntarily.
Larisa Lunkina He told RFE / RL that, He left his home in the Donbas as soon as the war broke out and has since settled in southwestern Russia Kazan in the city, lives with other forced kiosk Ukrainians.
Teenage son Nikitato the words of Lunkina, who took him with him according to, the situation is uncertain, but he is happy to be away from the battle zone. Although they are given food every day, they are worried about not having money. To Larisa’s health according to He said he could not work and did not have a permanent home.
According to Nikita, who is in the 11th grade according to, Ukrainian refugees in Russia did not receive any financial assistance in Kazan. Although that, officials say the opposite.
“Deputies they come, they talk, they go. They easily forget us. Ordinary people help, not officials. There is no initiative from the state, “he said. – Nikita said.