Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips


Kyiv, Ukraine CNN —

“Dear mom and dad, I am alive and well. I am doing well. Dima.” Handwritten on a small piece of paper, this is the only message Halyna and Vasyl Khyliuk have received from their son Dmytro Khyliuk, known as Dima, since he was taken by Russian troops more than two years ago. The Ukrainian journalist was detained in March 2022 during the occupation of his village, Kozarovychi, north of Kyiv. As far as his parents know, the 49-year-old correspondent for the Ukrainian Independent Information Agency was transferred to Russia, where he is still being held despite – according to his lawyer – having never been convicted or charged.

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. Kyiv has officially confirmed around 1,700 cases, but human rights researchers estimate the real number is five to seven times higher. In all, some 37,000 Ukrainians – civilian adults and children, and military members – are unaccounted for, according to the Ukrainian ombudsman’s office, which says that people are still being seized in areas under Russian occupation. CNN cannot independently verify the number of detainees. Many of those detained have been moved to prisons deep inside Russia, kept alongside criminals and prisoners of war, in breach of international humanitarian law. Human rights groups have identified some 100 detention facilities across Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine where civilians are being held, including several that have been opened or expanded specifically to accommodate them.

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“The Russians want to recognize a lot of them as military combatants and give them prisoner of war status … the main reason being (to build) a bank of POWs for exchanges,” Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, told CNN in Kyiv. Lubinets said that recognizing Ukrainian civilians as prisoners of war would be both illegal and dangerous, because it would put Ukrainians in occupied areas at higher risk of being detained to be used as bargaining chips. “These people are not prisoners of war; they are civilian hostages. I use that word to emphasize what the Russian Federation is doing – they are holding civilians as hostages,” he said. Under the Geneva Conventions, that regulate the conduct of armed conflict, hostage-taking is explicitly banned. Warring parties can intern people, including civilians. But the rules on who can be detained, why and for how long are strict.

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Pantielieieva, the MIHR researcher, said she believes Russia would take advantage of any decision to recognize civilians as prisoners of war and detain even more. “The number of people they are taking is already great, they are doing it every day,” she said, adding that the latest case of a “disappeared” civilian had landed on her desk just a few days earlier. Volunteers, journalists and teachers are among those Russia has appeared interested in detaining, according to the human rights groups monitoring the arrests, but often there is no discernable reason why someone has been scooped up. “Some people were taken because their house was not far from Russian positions. Or maybe they had a video of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky on their phones. Or the Russians were interested in their relatives and took them hostage,” Pantielieieva said.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/05/europe/ukrainian-civilians-detained-russian-prisons-intl-cmd/index.html

In the Luhansk region, under the shadow of Russian occupation, a new form of coercion emerges at the most vulnerable moment of life: childbirth.

Reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and local authorities reveal a chilling policy: in order to be discharged from maternity clinics, mothers are now required to demonstrate that at least one parent of the newborn holds Russian citizenship. Failure to comply could mean losing their newborns, a tactic that is sparking outrage and allegations of genocide.

This requirement contravenes Article II(d) of the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, which explicitly describes genocide as including "imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group." The ISW report underscores the gravity of these actions, placing them in the stark context of genocidal intent.

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This move by the Russian authorities not only threatens the sanctity of family and personal rights but also seeks to erase an ethnic identity by severing the bonds between child and cultural heritage.

The head of Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, Ivan Fedorov, stated that the Russian military is initiating conscription of youth from the occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia region. "At the end of March, dictator Putin signed a decree on conscription of Russian citizens into military service. There are no exceptions for newly occupied territories in the decree," he said.

Fedorov emphasized that in mid-April, "gauleiter" Balitsky created conscription commissions in the temporarily occupied territories. "Despite his loud statements that residents of these territories will not be drafted for at least five years, he is now silent. Involving residents of these territories in service in the army of the occupying country is a violation of international law," emphasized the head of the regional administration.

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For instance, Russian military compelled Ukrainian children to write letters of support to Russian soldiers involved in the war against Ukraine. These actions are propaganda aimed at involving children in supporting aggression.

Russians also compel Ukrainian men from occupied territories to join their army and fight against their own country. This constitutes a severe violation of international law and war crimes.