The United States on Wednesday (September 7th) accused the Kremlin of coordinating vast “
triage
” operations in Ukraine with the aim of eventually facilitating the annexation of territories under its control.
“
We have information that officials from the Russian presidential administration are overseeing and coordinating these triage operations
” of hundreds of thousands of people, said deputy spokesman for American diplomacy, Vedant Patel.
These officials at the highest level "
provide lists of Ukrainians to target
", he added during a press briefing, accusing "
Russia of carrying out these operations as part of its efforts to annex parts of territories of Ukraine under its control
”.
“Forced transfers of children”
The UN for its part reported on Wednesday the existence of "
credible accusations of forcible transfers of unaccompanied children to the territory occupied by Russia or to the Russian Federation itself
", during a meeting of the Council. UN security report on forced displacement in Ukraine.
Kiev regularly denounces "
deportations
" which would have affected more than a million Ukrainians, Moscow assuring for its part that its only goal is to allow civilians to "
evacuate
" from "
dangerous areas
".
Ukrainians evacuated from besieged cities or those leaving territories occupied by Russian troops are forced to transit through centers.
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In mid-July, the OSCE said in a report “
gravely concerned
” by the treatment inflicted by Moscow on Ukrainian civilians in “
filtration camps
”, intended to identify those suspected of links with the Kiev authorities.
US authorities on Wednesday unveiled a map showing the existence of a dozen of these "
centers
" in eastern Ukraine and the destinations of Ukrainians thus "
filtered
".
According to Washington, Ukrainians there are interrogated to assess their degree of potential "
threat
" and are either allowed to remain in Russian-controlled territories or sent to Russia.
Other people are being held in eastern Ukraine or in Russia.
Already in July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of “
forced deportations
” of up to 1.6 million Ukrainians.