Ukraine demands immediate return of people taken by Russians from Sumy region – Lubinets
The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, has appealed to Russia's ombudsperson Tatyana Moskalkova, demanding information on the whereabouts of residents of the village of Hrabovske in the Sumy region who were forcibly taken to the territory of the Russian Federation by the occupiers.
He reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.
According to Lubinets, it has been preliminarily established that on December 18 Russian military personnel illegally detained about fifty civilians in Hrabovske, held them without access to means of communication and proper conditions, and on December 20 forcibly transported them to Russia.
Lubinets stressed that such actions constitute a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
"I have urgently reached out to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, demanding information on their whereabouts, the conditions of their detention, and immediate measures for their safe return to Ukraine," Lubinets said.
He also sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross and called on the international community to give an appropriate legal assessment of Russia's actions and to use all available mechanisms of influence to stop the illegal deportation of Ukraine's civilian population.
"And I appeal to our citizens: remaining in a combat zone is dangerous. Evacuation is a chance to save yourself and your loved ones," the ombudsman added.
As Ukrinform previously reported, as a result of a rapid advance by Russian troops in the Sumy region, Ukrainian defenders withdrew from several positions in the area of Hrabovske. Stabilization actions and measures to identify and eliminate enemy manpower are currently underway.
The Main Communications Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that after the capture of Hrabovske, more than 50 civilians were forcibly taken to the territory of Russia. These are mostly elderly men and women who had previously refused evacuation deeper into Ukraine.
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