Traitors labeled as victims - Kremlin claims 500 'repressed political prisoners' in Ukraine
Photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian president (Getty Images)
Russia has claimed that there are allegedly "nearly 500 political prisoners" in Ukraine, attempting to justify pro-Russian collaborators under the guise of human rights protection, according to an interview by Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova with the state news agency TASS.
Moskalkova said she intends to seek the "release" of nearly 500 people whom Russia labels as political prisoners in Ukraine.
According to the Russian official, the list includes more than 70 Russian citizens and over 400 Ukrainian citizens, allegedly including priests, journalists, and civic activists.
Moscow claims these individuals "suffered for pro-Russian interests" and want to relocate to Russia.
At the same time, the Russian side admits there are currently no agreements with Kyiv on the so-called "repatriation" of Russian citizens, despite referring to isolated cases of returns.
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stressed that all such cases are handled strictly within the legal framework. These are not prosecutions for political views, but criminal cases related to collaboration, cooperation with occupying forces, assistance to the aggressor, or other crimes against national security during Russia’s full-scale war. Moscow consistently substitutes these concepts, portraying those convicted of collaboration as "victims of repression".
Such statements by Moskalkova are part of a Kremlin information campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine’s law enforcement and judicial system internationally. Against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing aggression, these narratives are used to justify Russia’s own crimes and to promote a distorted version of events.
Earlier, Russia was reported to have intensified large-scale Russification in temporarily occupied territories.
