Russia Sets Up New Filtration Camp in Occupied Territories, Forcibly Distributes Passports

Russia has established a new filtration camp in territories it occupied in 2024, according to Ukraine’s National Resistance Center in February 28.

The camp, designed to hold up to 1,000 people, is being used to screen residents of recently occupied settlements for any ties to Ukraine’s Defense Forces. Those detained are forcibly brought to the facility, where they are subjected to interrogations and, as part of the process, are mandatorily issued Russian passports.

The National Resistance Center condemned the move as part of Russia’s ongoing campaign to erase Ukrainian identity, stating that “the systematic repression of civilians amounts to genocide in the heart of Europe.” However, the center also emphasized that it is actively tracking those involved in operating these camps and other filtration activities.

“We emphasize that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations, and no one will escape justice,” the Center wrote.

Russia’s filtration camps in occupied Ukrainian territories serve as detention and interrogation centers where civilians are screened for ties to Ukraine’s military, subjected to torture, forced passportization, and deportation.

These camps, reported in Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, are used to suppress resistance, erase Ukrainian identity, and forcibly integrate occupied areas into Russia. Many detainees are deported to remote Russian regions, imprisoned, or even conscripted into the Russian military.

Previously, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has confirmed a rising number of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces. At least 79 cases have been documented since late August 2024, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha on February 3.