INTERNATIONAL:​ The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday 19th July that 25 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking, including many 'highly vulnerable' Ukrainians after Russia's invasion.

During the release of its annual report on human trafficking, Secretary of State Antony Blinken honored activists fighting against trafficking, including the president of Ukrainian NGO La Strada, Kateryna Cherepakha.

The United States report placed Russia on lists of countries engaged in a "policy or pattern" of human trafficking, forced labor or whose security forces or government-backed armed groups recruit or use child soldiers.

U.S. Secretary Of State, Antony Blinken, Said:

“The scale of this problem is vast. There are nearly 25 million people currently victims of trafficking, 25 million people. The United States is committed to fighting it because trafficking destabilizes societies, it undermines economies, it harms workers, it enriches those who exploit them, undercuts legitimate business and most fundamentally because it is so profoundly wrong.”

 “Kateryna Cherepkha leads the Ukrainian chapter of the anti-trafficking NGO La Strada. As we all know, since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine millions of Ukrainians had to flee their homes, some internally within Ukraine, some leaving the country altogether. Many, most, with just what they were able to carry and that makes them highly vulnerable to exploitation. La Strada has a hotline, it’s received an unprecedented number of calls over the past five months, The organization’s given literally thousands of Ukrainians the information assistance that they need to try to stay safe as they are forced from their homes.”

Russia appears frequently throughout the report because of its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and what the document called the vulnerability to human trafficking of millions of Ukrainian refugees who fled their country.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the allegations in the report.

In addition to Russia, the new section listed Afghanistan, Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and five other countries with a "documented 'policy or pattern' of human trafficking," forced labor in government-affiliated sectors, sexual slavery in government camps or employ or recruit child soldiers.

The report also contained a separate list of 12 countries that employ or recruit child soldiers. It included Russia and a number of those on the new state-sponsors list.