Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been processed through a series of Russian “filtration camps” in eastern Ukraine and sent to Russia as part of a systematic forced removal program, according to four sources familiar with the latest Western intelligence — an estimate much higher than US officials. have made this public.
After being held in camps run by Russian intelligence officials, many Ukrainians are then forcibly relocated to economically deprived areas in Russia, in some cases thousands of miles from their homes, and often left with no means of return, sources said.
While some Ukrainians have voluntarily entered filtration camps to try to escape the fighting by entering Russia, many have been rounded up against their will at checkpoints and in air raid shelters. After spending an average of about three weeks in the camps – where sources and eyewitnesses say they are being held, interrogated and sometimes tortured in inhumane conditions – some are sent across the border to Russia and given state documentation.
From checkpoints in Rostov and other Russian cities, many Ukrainians are then relocated to far-flung corners across Russia, the sources said. In some cases, Ukrainians have been sent to Sakhalin Island, a distant Pacific headland in Russia’s far east — 10,000 miles from the Ukrainian border. If they’re lucky, sources tell DailyExpertNews, Russia will provide residential housing and maybe a Russian SIM card and a small amount of money.
Others are simply left with nothing and have to survive on their own. Still other Ukrainians are trapped in filter camps in Russia, close to their own homes, with no way out, other sources added.
Taken together, the Western intelligence reporting described by DailyExpertNews sources provides new details beyond scattered eyewitness accounts from the region and paints a disturbing picture of a comprehensive resettlement process.
Claims of Cultural Genocide† It’s all part of Russia’s attempt to bolster political control over occupied territories, sources say — partly by eliminating Ukrainians allegedly sympathetic to Kiev and partly by diminishing Ukraine’s national identity through depopulation and what some human rights activists say. call it ‘cultural genocide’. It’s an arbitrary system that Russia has used before, especially during both Chechen wars.
Intelligence officials believe that all Ukrainians entering Russia are processed through these filter camps. Top US diplomats have already publicly condemned the practice, saying that these actions constitute war crimes.
“Ukrainians don’t necessarily have to be thrown on a truck, but many are put in a situation where they have no choice: you get on the bus and go to the filtration and then to Russia or you die in the shelling,” says Tanya Lokshina, associate director of Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch, said: “These are forced transfers prohibited by the laws of war.”
The Russian Defense Ministry has not responded to requests for comment.
Precise numbers are difficult to confirm, and officially Western estimates range from tens of thousands to 1 million people.
But even the more conservative estimates point to a massive program of forced disruption on a staggering scale. And even if US officials have publicly quoted much lower numbers, the sources say that in reality it is clear that at least hundreds of thousands of people were pushed through the camp system and sent to Russia.
Late last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian armed forces are “doing everything possible to prevent civilian deaths. More than 1.37 million people have been evacuated from the dangerous regions of the country since the start of the special military operation.” the People’s Republic. , as well as from Ukraine to Russia.”
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