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Russian Forces Allegedly Abduct 19 Civilians From a Village in Ukraine's Sumy Region
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Russian forces have allegedly abducted 19 civilians from a village in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region and taken them across the border into Russia, Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said on March 6.
According to him, the civilians are residents of the village of Sopych in the Esmanska community of Sumy region.
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Lubinets said contact with the residents was initially lost, and later interviews with them appeared on Russian television channels.
“Such actions constitute a clear violation of international humanitarian law — the forced deportation of civilians and a gross disregard for the laws and customs of war,” commissioner stated.
Lubinets added he had urgently contacted the Russian human rights commissioner, requesting that Russian authorities arrange an immediate visit to the detained Ukrainian citizens.
He asked the Russian side to provide information about the civilians’ health and the conditions in which they are being held, and to ensure their swift return to Ukraine.
“Ukraine insists on compliance with international law and the protection of the rights of its citizens,” Lubinets concluded.
The incident comes amid broader concerns over the treatment of Ukrainian civilians detained in Russia. As of July 2025, about 800 Ukrainian civilians were reportedly being held in Russian Centers for Temporary Detention of Foreign Citizens.
Many of those detainees had previously been imprisoned in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and were later transferred to Russia following the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Although some were formally cleared for deportation, they remain in prolonged detention, often facing worsening health conditions and legal uncertainty.
A report published in July indicated that 60 Ukrainian citizens were being held in a detention facility in Voronino, including 19 people suffering from HIV or tuberculosis and nine women. One detainee reportedly died by suicide after spending a long period in isolation.
Earlier, in the first weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian prison officials reportedly received orders to subject captured Ukrainian soldiers to torture.
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