Russian Human Rights Commissioner Denies Holding Peaceful Ukrainian Citizens Captive
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Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova stated that Russia does not hold peaceful Ukrainian citizens captive and facilitates their return home, while accusing Ukraine of daily attacks on civilians, including a bus with Belarusian children.
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Why It Matters
Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova stated that Russia does not hold peaceful Ukrainian citizens in captivity and facilitates their return home, contrasting this with alleged Ukrainian attacks on civilians.
MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. Russia does not hold peaceful citizens of Ukraine in captivity and does not hinder their return home, Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova told TASS in an interview.
"Russia does not hold peaceful residents in captivity. This is also a humane attitude. For example, it hurts me and I take offense when they say that we are transporting a criminal, but it is an elderly man who came out with a hunting rifle during the shelling of his home - is he a criminal? He is not a criminal at all. And of course, we always act very humanely in this regard," Lantratova said.
According to her, if there are citizens of Ukraine who wish to go home, they "can freely leave through Russian territory." "There was a moment when we saw Ukrainian residents on Russian territory, and we simply handed them over," the ombudswoman noted.
"Now, if you look at the tactics that have been chosen on the other side, they are daily attacks on peaceful residents, on playgrounds, on buses with children," the ombudswoman said.
She recalled the attack on a bus with Belarusian children who were traveling on vacation to Gelendzhik. "They even strike them deliberately. They strike homes and cultural heritage sites," the ombudswoman stated.
Open Questions
- What is Ukraine's response to these specific claims?
- What evidence supports the claims of Ukrainian attacks on civilians?
