According to Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the capture of Ukrainian civilians by the occupying army of the Russian Federation is a sign of the genocidal policy of the aggressor country.
Points of attention
- The capture of Ukrainian civilians by the Russian occupying army is a sign of the genocidal policy of Russia against Ukraine.
- The return of Ukrainian civilians from Russian captivity highlights the genocidal nature of the Russian war and the violations of international humanitarian law.
- Ukrainian civilians held in Russian captivity face abuse, pressure, and difficult conditions, showcasing war crimes and humiliation inflicted by the aggressor country.
- The detention of thousands of Ukrainian civilians in Russian captivity is a grave war crime that demands international attention and condemnation.
- The conditions of detention for Ukrainian civilians in Russia often fail to meet basic standards, with many held in unlawful places outside the legal system.
How Russia commits genocide of the Ukrainian people by taking Ukrainian civilians as an example
That night, the operation was completed and the 53rd exchange since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression was completed. As part of this exchange, 100 Ukrainians returned, both military and civilian - 90 military and 10 civilians, Yusov noted.
According to him, since the beginning of the criminal war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, 3,310 Ukrainian men and women, including both civilians and military, have been returned from Russian captivity as a result of the work of the Coordinating Staff on the Treatment of Prisoners.
The very fact that today we are talking about the return of civilian prisoners, civilian hostages, civilian prisoners from Russian captivity is a glaring proof to the whole world that the Russian war against Ukrainians is a genocidal war, that the enemy commits war crimes and ignores international humanitarian law , - emphasizes the representative of DIU.
He emphasized that the returned Ukrainians should not have been in Russian captivity, and their rights should not have been limited.
"The fault of these people is that they did not surrender to the Russian occupation," Yusov said.
How Ukrainian civilians are mocked and humiliated in Russia
As an example, he mentioned two priests of the Greek Catholic Church - Bohdan Geleta and Ivan Levytsky, who were arrested by the Russians and kept in extremely difficult conditions, putting great pressure on them.
Actually, they were arrested during prayer, for praying and for representing the Ukrainian church. Mr. Nariman, actually, of course, for not giving up his Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian identity. Both cultural and civil. Other examples are Olena Pekh, a museum employee, lecturer and teacher. And in fact, you can say this about all of them: these are people who should not be in any Russian captivity, - emphasized the representative of the DIU.
Yusov added that the fact that thousands of Ukrainian civilians are in Russian captivity is a flagrant and large-scale war crime on the part of the aggressor country.
Regarding the conditions of detention of Ukrainian civilians compared to prisoners of war, the representative of the DIU noted that the situations, places and conditions of detention are different.
But in many cases, Ukrainian civilians are detained in places not intended for this, outside the boundaries of even the so-called legal system of Russia.
