Is it true that Ukraine does not return Ukrainian prisoners deported by Russia? Lubinets responded

Commenting on whether Ukraine truly does not return Ukrainian prisoners deported by Russia from the temporarily occupied territories, the Ombudsman stated that this is not true. 45 Ukrainian citizens, precisely of this category, are blocked at the Russian-Georgian border. This was reported by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Lubinets, during a press conference, as reported by a UNN correspondent.

This is not true. All our citizens of Ukraine are on the list for return, including those citizens who were serving sentences. Russia forcibly removed them from the territory of Ukraine.

He noted that there are cases when Russia forcibly mobilizes prisoners it has deported and issues them Russian passports.

There are cases when citizens of Ukraine refuse this, serve their sentence. After that, there are cases when they are deported. 45 citizens of Ukraine, precisely of this category, are blocked at the border between the Russian Federation and Georgia. I sent a separate letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to speed up the verification procedure, identification of the person.

When asked how many citizens of this category there are in total, the Ombudsman replied: "A sufficiently large number, we are talking about thousands."

Context

The "Mediazona" portal reported that more than 50 Ukrainians are living in a basement near the Georgian border, awaiting permission to enter.

Most of these people are former prisoners who, after being released from Russian colonies, are often held for many months in temporary detention centers for foreign citizens (TSVSIG). Since mid-June, Russian authorities have been massively transporting them to the border with Georgia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Ukraine is aware of the detention of a number of Ukrainians at the Russian-Georgian border in inappropriate conditions, who were deported from the Russian Federation after serving their sentences. 12 people have already been evacuated.

In 2024, Hanna Skrypka, a lawyer for the Public Organization "Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine" and director of the Charitable Foundation "Social and Legal Development," stated that for some reason the state does not want to resolve the issue of determining the status of prisoners deported by Russia from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

For reference

According to Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska, in the first days of the full-scale invasion, 11 institutions and almost 3,000 prison population and staff found themselves under occupation. In the Kherson region, 4 institutions have already been de-occupied – 1 pre-trial detention center and three colonies.

According to the NGO "Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine", about 2000 people who were serving sentences in places of detention were taken out of the Kherson region. From the Holoprystan and Snihurivka correctional colonies, where hospitals for tuberculosis patients were located, and the Darivka correctional colony, where a general disease hospital was located, people who were under daily medical supervision and received constant treatment were taken out.

In places of detention on the territory of the Russian Federation and temporarily occupied territories (TOT), prisoners are tortured and subjected to abuse, as evidenced by those who have returned. This includes forced passportization of imprisoned Ukrainians throughout their detention.

The routes for returning deportees from Russia are through the "Kolotylivka-Pokrovka" checkpoint. The second return route is through Georgia.