You're reading: Russia human rights ombudsperson to continue checking reports of Russian soldiers being sent to Ukraine

MOSCOW - Russian human rights commissioner Ella Pamfilova has said that she does not have proof of Russian soldiers being ordered to Ukraine.

At a press conference at the Interfax central office she said that she started checking reports about the sending of Russian soldiers to eastern Ukraine as soon as they appeared in the media.

“There was information that conscripts are being sent to Ukraine, that they are compelled to sign contracts. I collected all the materials and sent an inquiry to the Defense Ministry, to the military prosecutor’s office. I also asked human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov and the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers to supply the facts that they have,” Pamfilova said.

She said that there were several instances in some regions in which conscripts were compelled to sign contracts of military service. “I am particularly dealing with them,” she said.

Pamfilova added that she received an answer from the military prosecutor’s office that several instances were not confirmed.

“Here I separate two things. I believe that judging by my information there were individual instances of compelled signing of contracts after all but I don’t have direct evidence that they [conscripts] were compelled and then sent to Ukraine. Not one of them was confirmed,” she said.

Pamfilova said that she assigned a separate person to verify all these facts who also checked the sources of information.

“So far I don’t have such information for you in all our investigated cases. But I will continue dealing with that,” Pamfilova promised.