Russia established 19 filtration camps along Ukrainian border
Courtney Ostrien, deputy head of the U.S. mission to the OSCE, said during a regular meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday that Russia has established 19 filtration camps along the border with Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
According to Censor.NЕТ, this is stated by Ukrinform.
"According to our assessment, Russia, with the help of proxy groups, is almost certainly using so-called filtering operations to conduct detention and deportation of Ukrainian civilians to Russia," Courtney Ostrien said.
The US diplomat noted that Russian officials reportedly started preparations for the filtering process in Ukraine even before February 24.
"Russian officials apparently created lists of Ukrainian civilians who were considered threats to Russian control over Ukraine, including anyone with pro-Ukrainian views, such as politicians and activists, as well as members of the security forces, in order to detain and filter them. At least 18 filtration sites along the Ukrainian-Russian border have now been identified," said the deputy head of the U.S. mission to the OSCE.
In her speech, she drew attention to several horror stories of Ukrainian civilians who were deported to Russia after going through these filtration camps: "Their stories paint a horrific picture of Russia's filtration operations and its systematic process of forcibly moving Ukrainian civilians to Russia, often to remote parts of the Far East, from territories that Russia seized after February 24.
Referring to eyewitnesses, she pointed out that Russian troops "forcibly move these Ukrainian civilians to temporary filtration points in schools, cultural centers, gyms, and other public buildings in Russian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine and Russia, where Russian security forces subject them to harsh interrogations, often involving searches and beatings.
The U.S. diplomat noted that such cases should be documented so that all those who give orders or participate in these actions can be held accountable.
