MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has dismissed the rumors refugees from Donbass and Ukraine are moved to Russia by force. The refugees seek asylum in Russia of their own accord, she stressed.

"By now more than 500,000 people have taken refuge in Russia after escaping from bombardments, shooting and humiliation by the Ukrainian forces. I am saying with a high sense of responsibility that there have been no cases of forcible resettlement of refugees to Russia. Such allegations are lies. I have met with people at temporary accommodation centers personally. They told me the Ukrainian forces had kept them in cellars and used them as a human shields. All those people wished to be taken to safety in Russia," Moskalkova said during a discussion arranged by the global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and the UN Human Rights Office in Europe.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 4.45 million people have migrated from Ukraine to neighboring countries on February 24 - April 10. Law enforcement authorities told TASS on April 7 that more than 650,000 people had arrived in Russia from the Lugansk and Donetsk republics and Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched a special military operation in Ukraine following a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He said that Moscow had no plans for an occupation of Ukraine’s territories, its sole purpose being the country’s demilitarization and denazification.