Forced from war-torn Ukraine to Russian camps

As Russia invaded Ukraine, many Ukrainians were deported from their home country and taken into Russian territory by force, coercion, against their will, or because they had no other option.

Hi, it's Julius with an update on Ukraine-Russia.

International authorities agree the scope of Russian deportations is vast. The United States estimated that as many as 1.6 million people have been deported. Ukraine’s president placed the number at 2 million. One human rights organization says the total could be 4.7 million.

Some Ukrainians were forced to move into Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Others were taken into Russia and, in some cases, placed in camps far on the other side of the country.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for these alleged forced deportations. Each case may be a war crime: Human Rights Watch says unlawful displacement can be by force, or by “fear of violence, duress, detention, psychological oppression or abuse of power.” The group has documented cases of Ukrainians forced out of their homes in Kharkiv and in Mariupol, the city that was under siege for 10 weeks before falling to Russian control in May 2022. Other groups have observed deportations from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

In the wake of those deportations, Paste BN interviewed Ukrainians who were deported and others who were in close contact with deported relatives in 2022. This story also relies on accounts documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Conflict Observatory and Ukraine 5AM Coalition.

More on the Ukraine-Russia crisis:

• The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its Aerospace Forces destroyed Ukraine's last warship with "a high-precision weapon."
• The latest U.S. military aid package for Ukraine will total up to $300 million and include munitions for drones, U.S. officials said Tuesday.