Deportation of custodial settings from occupied territories of Ukraine
With the advance of the Russian offensive and the seizure of new territories, where the occupying power was established, reports began to appear about the forcible transfer and deportation of people from these territories. News about the removal of custodial settings from the occupied territories intensified with the beginning of the Ukrainian offensive when the Russian side realised that it might not be able to hold the occupied territory. This can best be seen on the example of the facilities in Kherson region, which was occupied in the first days after 24 February 2022 and part of which, including regional centre Kherson city, was liberated at the time of preparation of this report.
The purpose of this report is to trace the methods and measures used by the Russian side for the purpose of forcible transfer and deportation of protected persons in custodial settings, based on information about the events that have been taking place in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
In particular, the directions of displacement, statements, and policies of the occupation administrations and authorities of the Russian Federation regarding the removal of places of detention, in which both adults and children reside, are considered within the framework of the report.
