Russia is depopulating parts of eastern Ukraine, forcibly removing thousands into remote parts of Russia https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/26/politics/ukraine-filtration-camps-forcibly-remove-russia/index.html Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been processed through a series of Russian "filtration camps" in Eastern Ukraine and sent into Russia as part of a systemized program of forced removal, according to four sources familiar with the latest Western intelligence -- an estimate far higher than US officials have publicly disclosed. After being detained in camps operated by Russian intelligence officials, many Ukrainians are then forcibly relocated to economically depressed areas in Russia, in some cases thousands of miles from their homes, and often left with no means of returning, sources said. Although some Ukrainians have voluntarily entered filtration camps to try to escape the fighting by entering Russia, many have been picked up against their will at check points and in bomb shelters. After spending an average of around three weeks at the camps -- where sources and eyewitnesses say they are held in inhuman conditions, interrogated and sometimes tortured -- some are sent across the border into Russia and given state documentation. From checkpoints in Rostov and other Russian towns, 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 spit in the Pacific Ocean on Russia's far east -- 10,000 miles from the Ukrainian border. If they are fortunate, sources tell CNN, Russia will provide housing in residential areas and perhaps a Russian SIM card and a small amount of money. Others are simply dropped off with nothing and expected to survive on their own. Still other Ukrainians are stuck in filtration camps inside Russia, close to their own homes, with no way to leave, other sources added. Taken together, western intelligence reporting described by CNN sources offers new details that go 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 effort to cement political control over occupied areas, sources say -- in part by eliminating Ukrainians believed to be sympathetic to Kyiv and in part by diminishing the Ukrainian national identity through depopulation and what some human rights activists term "cultural genocide." It's an indiscriminate system that Russia has employed before, notably during both Chechen wars. Intelligence officials believe all Ukrainians entering Russia are being processed through these filtration camps. Top US diplomats have already publicly condemned the practice and said these actions constitute war crimes. "Ukrainians do not necessarily have to be thrown on a back of a truck but many are put in a situation where they don't have a choice: You get on the bus and go to filtration and then to Russia or you die in the shelling," said Tanya Lokshina, Europe and Central Asia associate director for Human Rights Watch. "These are forced transfers forbidden under the laws of war." Russia's Ministry of Defense did not respond to requests for comment. It's difficult to confirm precise numbers, and officially, Western estimates vary from tens of thousands to 1 million people. But even the more conservative estimates hint at a massive program of forced dislocation on a staggering scale. And even as US officials have publicly cited much lower numbers, the sources say that in reality, it's clear that at least hundreds of thousands of people have been pushed through the camp system and sent to Russia. Late last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian armed forces are "doing everything to prevent deaths among the civilian population. Since the beginning of the special military operation, more than 1.37 million people have been evacuated from the dangerous regions of the people's republic, as well as from Ukraine to Russia." Camps run by Russian intelligence The camps and the processing centers inside Russia are largely run by the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency responsible for Moscow's operations in Ukraine, according to three sources familiar with western and US intelligence. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, western intelligence had assessed that the agency had plans to establish and operate a filtration camp system to kill politically undesirable Ukrainians and ship the rest to Russia, according to two sources familiar with the assessments. The human toll of Russia's strategy is incalculable. Conditions at the camps are appalling, sources and eyewitnesses say. CNN earlier this week reported eyewitness accounts of beatings, dehumanizing and invasive identity checks, and a lack of sanitary facilities in ad hoc facilities, which are set up in tent camps, schools and hospitals. There has been a tuberculosis outbreak at one camp, while at another, Ukrainians have died from lack of medical care, according to a source familiar with western intelligence. Those who survive the filtration process and are scattered across Russia face an odyssean journey to return home. Some have been able to make their way across the border into Georgia, Belarus or Estonia. But still others are likely stuck, thousands of miles from home with no passport, no financial resources, and few options, sources say. "This way they are sure not to cause any problems [for Russia]," said one of the sources. "If they have money or access, they can probably catch a flight to Georgia. But that'll be far and few between -- they couldn't afford to leave [Ukraine] in the first place, so that tells you something." According to one source familiar with western intelligence, the majority of Ukrainians who are being sent across the border are women, children and the elderly. But not all Ukrainians who go through the filtration process in occupied Ukraine are sent to Russia. Some disappear without a trace. Still others languish in the camps in Ukrainian territory, according to a report that Human Rights Watch is in the process of assembling. Survivors of Mariupol Lokshina, the Human Rights Watch official, said hundreds of Ukrainian men were taken from Mariupol and have been held in two eastern Ukrainian towns, Bezimenne and Kazatsoe. Some have been there for more than a month, held in school buildings and a local event hall. "They were told they would be able to leave in 2 to 4 days, once they clear filtration, but their passports were not returned to them. So even though they are not under lock and key, they cannot leave. Without their passports it would be simply suicidal," Lokshina said. "They are given no clarity as to their prospects and the purpose of their protracted detention." Just this week the Ukrainians in Kazatsoe were given back their passports and allowed to leave, but the Ukrainians in Bezimenne are still there. Their fate is unknown. Detained Ukrainians are able to use their cell phones when they get Wi-Fi, she said. But they also have to be careful about what is on their phones because the devices are taken by Russian troops and plugged into computers that takes and appears to store their data -- a complete violation of privacy, Lokshina said. "They are fearful that so-called DNR will forcibly draft them to serve in their armed forces," she said, using an acronym to refer to the self-proclaimed breakaway eastern territory of the Donetsk People's Republic.
Russian death squads launch 'hunt to kill' missions to wipe out Ukrainian officials After capturing the city of Lyman, Vladimir Putin's forces now control around 95% of the Donbas region and are reportedly "hunting for the heads" of local leaders https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russia-ukraine-death-squads-donbas-27093434
World leader after world leader is coming out opposing not only Putin's war crimes but outlining he is deliberately committing genocide. Colombia’s president condemns Russia's 'most brutal genocide,' warns of autocracies disrupting democracies Colombian President Duque said some countries are seeking to take down democracies similar to Colombia, the US https://www.foxnews.com/politics/co...cide-warns-autocracies-disrupting-democracies Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez condemned Russia's "most brutal genocide" in Ukraine, and also warned that other autocracies are interested in disrupting democracies around the world, in order to attack and dismantle values that make democracies strong. President Duque spoke with Fox News during an exclusive interview Thursday ahead of an event hosted by Colombian Ambassador Juan Carlos Pinzón celebrating 200 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Colombia. The Colombian president condemned Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine, warning that a regime that kills children, bombs hospitals and commits other atrocities must be sanctioned by the "whole world." "Russia has activated maybe the most brutal genocide that we have seen in recent history against the Ukrainian people. So that is a threat. When you have a regime that is just willing to do whatever it takes just to win a part of a territory or to conquer a territory, and that employskilling children, using landmines, bombing hospitals — that clearly has to be sanctioned by the whole world," he said. "So I don't refer to this situation as a conflict or as an invasion or as an attack or as a war. This is genocide. And I think we all have to raise our voices and our countries need to apply all the sanctions that are needed in order for Vladimir Putin to take the lesson and hopefully that he will be tried someday as a war criminal," continued Duque. When asked by Fox News about the malign influence coming from Russia and other autocratic states into Latin America, Duque responded that there are some countries are seeking to "dismantle the values" of democracies similar to those in Colombia and the United States. "My take is we have to defend democracy. And as I have said in many ways, democracy is like health. When we have it, we take it for granted. When we lose it, we [want] to claim it back desperately. So I think we have to understand that there are countries around the world who are interested disrupting democracies elsewhere. And in the case of Latin America, democracies have been threatened by three phenomenonthat it may have been very well described by Moisés Naím in his latest book [on]"the three Ps" – populism, post-truths and polarization. And some of that sometimes comes with the influence or the attacks from other countries that clearly want to dismantle the values that have made our democracy so strong," said Duque. The Colombian president explained that bad actors are working to specifically influence elections and "generate chaos," in an attempt to weaken the core institutions that set democracies apart from other systems of governance. "So we have to denounce whether there are people trying to influence the democratic elections, whether there are people trying to create a blasting campaign against institutions or just trying to generate chaos. So we have to clearly work on cybersecurity policies that allow us to detect phenomenons like the one that took place in the United States in 2016, and that has taken place in other countries around the world, in order not to allow other countries that want to manipulate elections other benefit," Duque told Fox News. It has been proven by the Department of Justice and Congress that Russia attempted to influence the outcome of the United States' 2016 Presidential Election through a campaign of disinformation and by sowing political division on social media platforms. Duque also discussed the ongoing discussions to re-negotiation the Iran Nuclear Deal, saying that any deal to deter Iran from developing a deployable nuclear weapon would be beneficial to the region, due to the fact that Iran is active in South America, particularly in Venezuela through terrorist organizations. "My opinion is that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA has been requesting for many years to have a transparent and traceable mechanism of supervision and any way forward on an agreement that is able to deter Iran to enrich uranium and build a nuclear weapon. Well, I think we have to celebrate it. And maybe if I could use the phrase that Ronald Reagan used to use is, yeah, you can trust, but you have to verify. And I think so far there has been a lot of trust, but I think we haven't had the verification enough to clearly ensure that Iran is not going to enrich uranium and create a major world threat," he told Fox News. The president continued to say that Iran's "strong relationship" with Venezuela is concerning due to the presence of terrorist organization Hezbollah's cells in the country. "[Iran] has a strong relationship with Venezuela. We have a diplomatic relation with Iran. But we have said that we have to clearly denounce the presence of Hezbollah cells in Venezuela. So any country that supports Hezbollah is a country that is clearly violating [United Nations Security Council] Resolution 1373 that was issued after September 11, 2001, where no state can provide harbor or safe haven to terrorist groups," he said. "So it's clear that some of these countries have been maybe looking to the other side, being flexible or supportive and with this kind of organization. And we have to be clear that even though we may have diplomatic relations, we just can't stand that that relationship with terrorist organizations takes place." Duque also praised the United States' strong diplomatic partnership with Colombia for over 200 years, which he called a "long relationship based on principles and values," also noting that the two countries "have demonstrated that with law and order, we have dismantled the most brutal terrorist organizations." The president plans to attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California next week. He told Fox News that at the summit he plans to focus on migration, climate change solutions and economic reactivation coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stealing all the grain is a war crime as well... Russian ambassador storms out of UN session as he's confronted with Moscow atrocities RUSSIAN ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya stormed out of a UN Security Council meeting after fellow representatives denounced Putin's aggression in Ukraine. https://www.express.co.uk/news/worl...n-Kremlin-Nebenzya-walk-out-Charles-Michel-vn
60-year-old Kherson village head tortured ‘for pleasure’ by Russian invaders https://khpg.org/en/1608810710
Straight out ethnic cleansing.. chasing out Ukrainians, stealing their homes, and bringing in Russians to settle in them.