The United States says it has evidence that Russia interrogated hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens in “filtration camps” and forcibly deported Ukrainians to isolated regions in eastern Russia. The United States estimates their numbers at 900,000 to 1.6 million. This includes civilians who have voluntarily left the country because of the war.

“From the Russian point of view, these measures are designed to find those who are not ready to submit to Russian rule,” the UN said. said the US ambassador to the Security Council. “And there is growing evidence that alleged pro-Ukrainian people are ‘disappearing’ or being imprisoned.”

His Russian counterpart immediately dismissed the allegations as “fantasy” and another example of Western disinformation. According to him, 3.7 million Ukrainians have fled to Russia or to territory controlled by Russian separatists. They were not captured, he said. “They live freely and are in Russia voluntarily, they can go where they want, and nobody can stop them if they want to leave the country.”

The US ambassador asked Russia to grant access to the Ukrainians to the United Nations and NGOs. “Show the world what’s going on out there.” She also wants to reach out to Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The call is supported by the United Nations Office for Human Rights. There, too, it has been confirmed that Russia is conducting thorough investigations into Ukrainian citizens.

“People are being searched, exposed, questioned harshly about their background, family ties, political views and friends and acquaintances,” Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilse Brands Gehris said. “They search personal belongings, including phones, and collect personal data, photographs and fingerprints.”

Ukrainians associated with the Ukrainian armed forces or the Ukrainian government were in some cases detained and tortured or disappeared without a trace. He also fears that Ukrainian children who end up on Russian territory without parents will be assigned to Russian adoptive parents.

Ukrainian officials said In April Russia set up ‘filtration camps’. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe acknowledged reports of forced evictions from areas occupied by Russia. At the time, the Red Cross spoke of one more “point of concern”.

Published by Human Rights Watch Starting this month Includes reports from 54 people who were subjected to the filtering process or whose family or friends were brought to Russia. Most of the cases are from Mariupol and Kharkov regions.

Ukrainian President Zelensky said that the Ukrainian military is making progress in the counter-offensive. “There is good news from the Kharkiv region,” he said. Ukrainian forces have reportedly recaptured several villages near Balaglejja. He declined to provide further information. Reports on social media suggest that Ukraine’s military is advancing on a broad front.

The military leadership said that progress is being seen in South Sri Lanka as well. This has not been confirmed by independent observers either.

Soldiers from 50 countries are meeting today at a military base in Germany to discuss how they can do more to help Ukraine.