UKRAINE, Oct. 9 – Russian forces have forcibly transferred 25 civilians, including children, from the temporarily occupied territory of the Kharkiv region to an unknown destination, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, said.

Earlier, on. Sep. 27, reconnaissance drones of Ukraine’s 2nd Corps Khartiia had recorded Russian troops moving civilians from the Kupiansk community through a gas pipeline toward Russia. The group included both young and elderly people. 

Pro-Russian Telegram channels reported this operation as a rescue effort. However, Dmytro Lubinets said that the video footage shows signs of pressure and intimidation.

“When people are taken away against their will, intimidated, and left with no choice, it is not a rescue. It is coercion,” he said.

Oleh Syniehubov, the governor for Kharkiv oblast, said to journalists that he hasn’t received reports of forced deportations happening in areas of the region where combat is ongoing at the Oct. 9 briefing. “Perhaps (what ombudsman’s talking about — ed) it’s old information. We’ll figure it out.” 

According to Lubinets, Russian forces have also created a Telegram bot to collect personal information under the pretext of organizing evacuations. He urged people not to share personal information, as it could be used against civilians and their families.

The Ombudsman called the actions of Russian forces a violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

Dmytro Lubinets had appealed to Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights and requested information about the 25 civilians. He also appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, and other international organizations to help address the situation.

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