Russia Seizes 25 Civilians, Including Children, From Kharkiv Region, Ombudsman Says

Russian forces forcibly removed 25 civilians, including children, from an occupied part of the Kharkiv region and took them to an unknown location, Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.Their relatives do not know where they are or under what conditions they are being held, Lubinets said in a social media statement. He did not identify the settlement, saying only that active fighting was taking place in the area.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Russia calls this an ‘evacuation.’ But when people are taken away against their will, intimidated and left with no choice, this is not a rescue. It is coercion,” he said.The group includes young people, older residents and children, according to Lubinets. He expressed particular concern about the children’s whereabouts and the collection of their personal information.“They are being taken away, their data is being collected and their parents and relatives may not even know where they are,” he said.Lubinets said Russian forces had described the removal as a rescue operation on their Telegram channels. According to him, available video footage showed pressure and intimidation, with residents denied the ability to decide where to go or what would happen to them afterward.Russian forces have also created a Telegram bot to collect residents’ information under the pretext of arranging evacuations, Lubinets said.He warned that the information could be used against residents and their families, urging people not to submit passport details, addresses, phone numbers or documents belonging to themselves or their children. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Strikes Russian Missile Fuel Plant, Oil Depot, Yandex Data Center as Moscow Claims 505 Drones Downed The targeted facility in Russia’s Tver region manufactures Decilin-M, a specialized rocket fuel component used in Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, as well as additives for diesel fuel and aviation kerosene. Ukraine demands civilians’ whereaboutsLubinets said he had contacted Russia’s human rights commissioner, demanding the location of all 25 civilians, information about their conditions and full details of those removed.He also called for measures to secure their return to Ukraine and said he had appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN and other international organizations.Lubinets said the actions violated international humanitarian law, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention’s prohibitions on unlawful forcible transfers and deportations, hostage-taking, intimidation and collective punishment.Article 49 prohibits forcible transfers and deportations from occupied territory while allowing evacuations under limited circumstances involving civilian safety or imperative military reasons. Those evacuations must meet safeguards, including humane conditions and keeping families together.Civilian abductions and deportationsThe reported removal comes against a wider pattern of civilian abductions and disappearances in Russian-occupied Ukraine. A UN report documented arbitrary detention by Russian forces, including during “filtration” screenings, with many cases amounting to enforced disappearances. Former detainees reported torture and ill-treatment. Children have also been forcibly transferred from occupied territory. Moscow has presented such transfers as evacuations for their protection, but a UN children’s rights committee demanded that Russia stop the practice, disclose information about those taken and ensure their return. The committee also raised concerns about Ukrainian children being deprived of their nationality. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over their alleged responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. Russia rejects the court’s jurisdiction. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.