Russia repatriates 45 Ukrainian citizens through Belarus

Russia has returned 45 Ukrainian nationals who were subject to deportation and wished to go back to Ukraine, the Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said.

Speaking at a State Duma committee session on civil society and religious organisations, Moskalkova noted that on December 16, in Nova Huta, Belarus, authorities also organised the reunion of 22 families, Caliber.Az reports via TASS.

She added that the repatriated Ukrainians included elderly and ill individuals.

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirmed the return of 60 Ukrainians overall that day, combining family reunions and deportees, following a working meeting with Moskalkova and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives.

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia reports over 3-4 million Ukrainians (including 600,000+ children) evacuated "voluntarily" since 2022, while Ukraine and Western sources allege 900,000-1.6 million were forcibly deported through "filtration" processes (interrogations, detentions).

By Khagan Isayev