Russia’s war has created new human trafficking risks for Ukrainians, Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets says.
According to him, forced deportation of civilians to Russia, internal displacement, and the fact that many Ukrainians seek shelter from the war abroad have made the population more vulnerable to trafficking.
Earlier, the Prosecutor General’s office informed that 56 citizens became victims of human trafficking in 2023.
Lubinets stated that the majority of appeals he has received on human trafficking cases during the war concern individuals who were previously held captive in Russia.
On 17 March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, alleging they are guilty of the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.