Ukrainians have been “
sent against their will to Russia
,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday, May 9, confirming information from Ukrainian authorities.
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"
We don't have numbers but we have seen signs of Ukrainians being taken from Ukraine to Russia
," said John Kirby, when asked during a press briefing about the Ukrainian government's claims that 1, 2 million people were thus deported to Russia and placed in camps.
"
I don't know how many camps there are or what they look like
," the spokesperson added.
"
But we do have information that Ukrainians are being sent against their will to Russia
."
Russian behavior “
unacceptable
”
Russia's behavior is "
unacceptable
" and "
is not that of a responsible power
", added John Kirby, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin "
simply does not accept and respect the sovereignty of the Ukrainian
”.
According to a Ukrainian government official, Lyudmila Denisova, quoted by the official communication center Spravdi, “
more than 1.19 million of our citizens, including more than 200,000 children, have been deported to the Russian Federation
”.
Abstaining from qualifying these deportations as ethnic cleansing, he nevertheless spoke of the “
Russian brutality
” in this conflict.
“
For 75 days (Russia) has brutalized Ukraine and the Ukrainian people
,” he said.
“
And every time you tell yourself they can't go any lower, they prove you wrong.
»