The US Secretary of State accused Putin's government of implementing a "filtering" policy among Ukrainian people. So far, 1.6 million Ukrainians and have been forcibly taken abroad.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the Moscow government of "relocating" vulnerable civilians in violation of state law, a war crime aimed at the partial annihilation of the Ukrainian nation.
Blinken said that he is currently preparing for a meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, on the trial of war criminals who committed crimes in Ukraine. Netherlands Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, International Criminal Court(IStGH) Prosecutor Karim Khan and EUJudicial Affairs Commissioner Didier Reynders) will participate in the meeting.
Forced relocation to Russia
Blinken cited reliable information within the Russian government and pointed out that 900,000 to 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens have been moved from their homeland to Russia. Some people were taken to the Russian Far East to isolate themselves from the outside world. Among them are approximately 260,000 children. Blinken explained that some children were purposefully taken away from their parents and brought to Russia for adoption.
Blinken announced in writing on social media: "Russia systematically implemented a 'filter operation' in Ukraine. Nearly 1.6 million innocent Ukrainians, including 260,000 children, disappeared or were detained or forcibly removed from their homes. Take away, Russia must stop such crimes immediately."
Blinken accused Putin of "filtering and purifying" Ukrainians
The forced relocation seems to have been planned in advance, which is the same policy implemented in Chechnya . Blinken accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "filtering and purifying" Ukrainians. In addition to separating them from their families and confiscating their Ukrainian passports, he also forcibly issued them Russian passports .
Blinken said that this seemed to be "an attempt to change part of Ukraine's national structure." Russia must be held responsible.
Simplifying the process of naturalizing Russian citizens
Putin signed a decree on Monday under which it will be very simple for all Ukrainians to become Russian citizens.
Western countries said this was "Russian political propaganda" and reminded Ukrainians who received a new Russian passport that they would not be granted entry permission. Ukraine is an independent and sovereign country, and no country may "issue any form of passport to Ukrainian citizens."
At the end of May, Putin had ordered to speed up the naturalization process for residents of Cherson and Zaporozhye (Saporischschja) in the Russian-occupied territories. The occupier authorities there claim to be preparing a referendum on joining Russia.
In 2019 in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, pro-Russian separatists have introduced simplified naturalization processes.
