Over 11.5M Ukrainians forcibly deported since Russian invasion started – Internal Affairs Ministry

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Internal Affairs Deputy Minister Kateryna Pavlichenko during a briefing at Media Center Ukraine-Ukrinform, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“Amid the full-scale invasion, full-scale war, and the humanitarian crisis we are facing now, the problem of human trafficking is taking on a new urgency. […] Today we are facing the new challenges: the humanitarian crisis, the movement of millions of Ukrainians abroad in search of a calmer, safer place, and the forced relocation, deportation of Ukrainians, namely children, to Russia, Belarus and the temporarily occupied areas,” Pavlichenko noted.

In her words, while Western countries are providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees abroad, Russia is forcibly deporting Ukrainians under the guise of the so-called ‘rescue’, forcing them to pass through filtration procedures. This is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, and Ukraine is raising this issue at all levels.

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