Sybiha demands Russia not deport Ukrainians to Georgia
Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine demands that Russia stop using the deportation of Ukrainian citizens to Georgia as a weapon. Kyiv insists that Russia bring Ukrainians to be deported directly to the Ukrainian border, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says.
Sybiha notes that since June of this year, the number of Ukrainian citizens deported by the Russian regime across the border with Georgia has increased significantly. Mostly, these are people who were convicted by a so-called Russian court and forced to serve their sentences in Russian prisons.
As a result of the actions of the Russians, dozens of people have been stuck in the transit zone between the borders of Russia and Georgia. Many of them do not have proper documents after being imprisoned in Russia.
"Ukrainian consuls are actively working to provide them with documents and transport them to Ukraine via Moldova. 43 citizens, including former political prisoner Andrii Kolomiyets, have already been evacuated using this route. However, more people remain in difficult conditions at the border," the minister said.
Sybiha adds that Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova are now actively working on the issue of returning Ukrainians home. But there are no guarantees that the Russian regime will not decide to increase the number of deportees across the Georgian border.
"To avoid further complications, we publicly offer Russia to send these categories of Ukrainian citizens directly to the Ukrainian border. We will be prepared to take them on from there. There are relevant parts of the border where this can be done. We are passing this offer directly and through international organizations using official channels," the minister summarizes.
Child thieves
Russia not only abuses Ukrainians imprisoned by it, but also steals Ukrainian children. Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many children have been taken to Russia, some of them illegally adopted.
Recently, SBU officers established the circumstances, detailed route, and all those involved in the deportation of two young children to Russia, as well as the forced transfer of 46 more children to the temporarily occupied Crimea.
For more details on how Russia steals and breaks Ukrainian children, read RBC-Ukraine's article.
