Russians forcibly remove 25 Ukrainians from Kharkiv Oblast – Ukrainian human rights commissioner

Russian forces have forcibly removed 25 civilians, including children, from the occupied part of Kharkiv Oblast to an unknown location.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, on Telegram

Quote: "Russia calls this an 'evacuation'. But when people are taken away against their will, intimidated and given no choice, this is not rescue. It is coercion.

Russian military personnel unceremoniously removed 25 local residents from the temporarily occupied part of Kharkiv Oblast, where active hostilities are ongoing [Lubinets did not specify the settlement – ed.]. They include young and elderly people, as well as children. The most alarming thing is that no one knows where these people are now or the conditions in which they are being held. What concerns me most in this case is the fate of the children. They are being taken away and their personal details are being collected, while their parents and family members may not even know where they are.

Without the slightest shame, the occupiers themselves reported on the so-called 'rescue operation' on their Telegram channels. But behind the reassuring word 'evacuation' lies a very different reality: people were deprived of the opportunity to decide for themselves where to go and what would happen to them next. Available video footage indicates pressure and intimidation."

Details: Lubinets said the relatives of the 25 people currently do not know where they are.

In addition, Russian forces have already created a Telegram bot through which they collect people's personal details under the guise of a so-called evacuation. Such information could be used against the individuals themselves and their relatives.

"I urge people not to provide passport details, addresses, phone numbers or documents – either their own or their children's – through this bot," Lubinets stressed.

Such actions violate international humanitarian law. The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War explicitly prohibits:

• forcible transfers and deportations from occupied territory (Article 49)
• the taking of hostages (Article 34)
• intimidation, terrorism and collective punishment (Article 33).

Lubinets said he had already contacted Russia's human rights commissioner, demanding that she:

• disclose the whereabouts of all 25 people
• provide information about the conditions in which they are being held
• provide the full details of the civilians who were removed
• take measures to facilitate their return to Ukraine.

The human rights commissioner has also appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and other international organisations for help.

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