At the end of Ukraine’s accountability conference, the United States is urging Russia to immediately halt its systematic “filtering” operations and forced deportations into Russian-controlled and held areas of Ukraine. Illegal transfer and deportation of protected persons is a serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians and is a war crime. Russian authorities must release the detainees and allow Ukrainian citizens to be forcibly removed or forced to leave their country the opportunity to return home quickly and safely. We urge Russia to give independent outside observers access to so-called “filtering facilities” and to forced deportation relocation areas in Russia.
Estimates from a number of sources, including the Russian government, indicate that Russian authorities have interrogated, detained and forcibly deported between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens, including 260,000 children, from their homes to Russia – often to isolated regions in the Far East. Moscow’s actions appear to be pre-meditated and draw immediate historical comparisons with Russian “filtering operations” in Chechnya and other areas. President Putin’s “filtering operations” are to separate families, confiscate Ukrainian passports and issue Russian passports in an apparent attempt to change the demographic composition of parts of Ukraine.
Reports also suggest that Russian authorities are deliberately separating Ukrainian children from their parents and abducting others from orphanages before they are adopted in Russia. Eyewitnesses and survivors of “filtration” operations, detentions and forced deportations report frequent threats, harassment and torture incidents by Russian security forces. During this process, Russian authorities will also capture and store biometric and personal data, subject civilians to invasive searches and interrogations, and force Ukrainian citizens to sign agreements to stay in Russia, preventing their ability to return home freely.
There is growing evidence that Russian authorities are also allegedly arresting or disappearing thousands of Ukrainian civilians who do not pass “filtration”. Those detained or “filtered out” include Ukrainians who are considered threatening because of their potential affiliation with the Ukrainian army, territorial defense forces, the media, the government and civil society groups. Eyewitnesses, survivors and Ukraine’s public prosecutor have reported that Russian authorities have transported tens of thousands of people to detention facilities inside Russian-controlled Donetsk, many of whom have been tortured. There are reports that some individuals targeted for “filtering” have been summarily executed, in accordance with evidence of Russian atrocities committed in Bucha, Mariupol and elsewhere in Ukraine.
President Putin and his government will not be able to participate in these systematic abuses with impunity. Responsibility is crucial. This is why we support the efforts of the Ukrainian and international authorities to collect, document and preserve evidence of atrocities. Together we are dedicated to holding the perpetrators of war crimes and other atrocities accountable.
The United States and our partners will not keep quiet. Ukraine and its people deserve justice.
