Russia created filtration camps for Ukrainians even before the start of the war – Ukrainian Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova
Even before the start of the war, filtration camps for Ukrainians were discovered in Russia, story The Insider Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova on live evening news with Marfa Smirnova. According to her, on February 18, 90,000 Ukrainians were taken to Russia from occupied observations, but then “no one paid attention to it.”
“They were taken to the Rostov region, and further from the Rostov region – to Taganrog, Saransk and beyond. We know that our citizens are located in 35 regions of the Russian Federation, up to the Khabarovsk Territory. There are three such camps in the Penza region,” Denisova said.
“One of these campsites is located in Leonidovka. There are 10 buildings in this camp. There is a checkpoint through which the promotion is carried. A woman, a citizen of the Russian Federation, who works with refugees, said that she and her companions arrived there and saw 400 people in the canteen, 147 of them children. Among the children of Ukraine there are absolutely babies, citizens who were detained, brought in detention; They asked for a lot of food for breastfeeding, which they practically ran out of, ”she said.
“Our citizens in this camp are in a very difficult condition, because they do not know what will happen to them next. No one tells them anything, they were brought in early March, they were sitting in a winter environment in a basement in Mariupol. They were brought in by buses, brought to the Penza region, and now another 150 people are expected there,” Denisova said. — Russian citizens have opened a bank account to raise funds. They said that the money had been credited to the account, they were going to the camp today, they had already bought and had to buy some more clothes today. There is a list [необходимых вещей]because some don’t even have private underwear, no shoes. Some of the men were just in some tights with warm jackets over them. The children were without basic things. Entrepreneurs of Penza fruit, some sweets, they are also carrying this today.”
Denisova stressed that people in places of deprivation of liberty are limited in their freedom of movement, they do not have documents. To date, according to her information, about 700,000 Ukrainians have been deported to the Russian Federation. “These are, of course, horrific numbers, because any deliberate deportation affects human rights and is a military takeover, affects the 1949 Geneva Convention on the External Environment of the Population,” she said.
“Now we are asking the International Red Cross to help people from the Russian Federation. We will offer different options. Of course, we want them to return as soon as possible, but at the moment this is not yet possible. Of course, we want this war to end faster, for peace to come on Ukraine’s terms, and for us to return all citizens to ourselves,” Denisova said.
Earlier, a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmitry Lubinets told The Insider that Ukrainians were forcibly taken to Russia for obtaining a Russian passport. “In fact, Russia has become a terrorist and uses people,” the deputy said. By all accounts, the situation is particularly difficult for children separated as a result of family wars. “We have a lot of examples of how orphans are heavily exported to parts of Russia, where there are no pekuns. The most striking example is the child of one of the honored masters of sports in Ukraine. Cases of a catastrophe, grandparents on the territory of Ukraine, were taken to Russia, and she is really a hostage. All forcibly taken children, according to our information, are found in orphanages. There are about 100,000 children in total,” he said.