Russians forcibly took 25 residents of occupied Kharkiv region, including children
Russian servicemen forcibly took 25 civilians from the temporarily occupied territory of the Kharkiv region, where active hostilities continue. Among those taken are children, young and elderly people. Their whereabouts remain unknown, and relatives have no information about the conditions in which they are being held.
This was reported on October 9 by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
According to him, the Russian side calls what happened an evacuation and is spreading messages about a so-called rescue operation through its own Telegram channels.
However, the Ukrainian ombudsman claims that people were taken against their will, under psychological pressure and without the opportunity to decide for themselves where to go.
Lubinets noted that the available video footage shows the intimidation of local residents. In his assessment, the actions of the Russian military cannot be considered a voluntary evacuation.
“Russia calls it an evacuation. But when people are taken against their will, intimidated and left without a choice — it is not rescue. It is coercion,” the ombudsman stated.
He is particularly concerned about the fate of children. According to Lubinets, Russian military personnel are collecting their personal data, while parents and other relatives may not even know where the minors are.
The exact number of children among the 25 taken is not specified. It is also not yet reported to which settlement exactly they were taken. The ombudsman did not disclose the name of the settlement from which the people were taken.
Russians collect personal data under the pretext of evacuation
Lubinets also warned about the danger of collecting information about residents of the occupied territories.
According to his data, the Russian side has created a special Telegram bot, through which, under the pretext of organizing an evacuation, they collect information about the civilian population.
The ombudsman believes that the obtained information may be used against the people themselves and their relatives.
In this regard, he called on residents of the occupied territories not to submit passport data, residential addresses, phone numbers and documents, including those belonging to children, through such resources.
Ukraine demands to reveal the whereabouts of the removed people
The Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada has already appealed to the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights with a demand to provide information on all 25 Ukrainian citizens.
In particular, the Ukrainian side demands to establish their exact whereabouts, report on their conditions, provide complete personal data and take measures for the return of the people to Ukraine.
In addition, Lubinets appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and other international structures with a call to intervene in the situation.
According to the ombudsman, such actions are contrary to international humanitarian law. He reminded that Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the forced displacement and deportation of the civilian population from occupied territories, except for temporary evacuations for security reasons provided for by the convention.
The convention also provides for the protection of civilians from intimidation, collective punishment and hostage-taking.
Lubinets emphasized that the Russian military cannot arbitrarily deprive people of the opportunity to decide for themselves where to stay and hide their location from their relatives.
The ombudsman urged everyone who has information about the taken citizens or has lost contact with relatives in the occupied part of the Kharkiv region to contact his office.
As of October 9, there is no information on the return of these 25 people or confirmed news about their whereabouts.
According to materials from: Dmytro Lubinets — official Telegram, Ukrinform, Ukrainska Pravda.
