The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of cases of disappearances of Ukrainian journalists and activists or reports of detainees in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.
Pesco’s comments came after CNN Local Ukrainian officials have reportedly been arrested, and journalists and members of civil society are reported missing and still missing..
Commenting on CNN’s report, Peskov said the Kremlin was unaware of such cases but that they should be carefully examined individually.
“It is important to consider each specific case, each name and surname,” Peskov told CNN. “No one contacted us [about it] And we do not have such information, “he added.
In addition to the CNN report, the United Nations Human Rights Watch (HRMMU) in Ukraine reported that dozens of Ukrainians, including local officials, activists and journalists, were being arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared.
According to an HRMMU spokesman, HRMMU has registered at least 45 civilian detention cases since the war began on February 24.
The task force said Monday that 24 cases have so far been documented in the custody of local authorities in the conflict in Russian-occupied territories, 13 of whom were later released.
Its observers also recorded the disappearances of 21 journalists, civil society activists, protesters and members of the public, who “voiced their opposition to the invasion of Kiev, Kherson, Luhansk and Saporizhia.”
Some of the missing were arrested during protests against the Russian invasion or for openly expressing their support for Ukraine.
A few were later released, a spokesman said, though the exact numbers are still being verified by work.
“The verification of information on the number of released persons is pending.
“There are grounds for believing that some of them may have been detained and forcibly disappeared,” they added.
Families are often denied any information about the fate of those arrested. Many are too scared to talk about the disappearance of their relatives, for fear that it will trigger a setback against themselves or their loved ones.
