Ukrainian prisoners in Russia were detained immediately after their release

A group of Ukrainian prisoners forcibly taken to Russia from the occupied territories were arrested immediately after their release for violating immigration laws. The New York Times writes about it. The newspaper cites comments from prisoners from Kherson and the Kherson region, who were transferred to Russian prisons when the region was under the control of Russian troops.
Prisoners report that during the occupation they were transported to the territory of Russia and annexed Crimea to serve the remainder of their sentence there. However, after the sentences expired, many of them were detained immediately after their release. Russian police accused them of illegal presence in the country. Those who were released were fined and sent to deportation centers.
Former prisoner Ruslan Osadchy, who served time for murder, said after his release police asked him how he got to Russia. Osadchy replied that Russian forces had brought him under escort. “They didn’t understand that we are citizens of another country and have nothing to do with Russia,” Osadchenko said.
Former prisoners have reported being beaten in Russian and Crimean prisons. They were offered to apply for Russian citizenship, but most refused. They also saw Wagner PMC recruiters in Russian prisons, but they showed no interest in recruiting Ukrainian citizens.
According to the convicts, after the outbreak of hostilities in Kherson and the region, at least in one penal colony, the prisoners were left almost at the mercy of fate. Former Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine Lyudmila Denisova agreed with this. “There is a war going on, there was no time for the prisoners,” she said.
The Russian authorities do not recognize the forcible transfer of Ukrainian prisoners. It can be considered a war crime. International law prohibits the forced displacement of people from occupied areas. Russian officials did not respond to inquiries from New York Times reporters.
According to estimates of the Ukrainian side, about 3,500 Ukrainian prisoners were taken to Russia, including about 2,500 from the prisons and settlements of Kherson and the region.