Vulnerable Ukrainian women and children are likely being trafficked into sex slavery and domestic servitude in the United Arab Emirates, defence experts have warned.

Millions of Ukrainians have fled the war-torn country since Russia began its brutal advance in February, leading to increased concerns about refugees being susceptible to trafficking.

Some are reported to have been targeted at Polish refugee camps, but experts believe a large proportion who have been forcibly removed to Russia are also being approached.

Now a new report from the Washington Institute For Defence And Security and the New York Center For Foreign Policy Affairs has revealed that some of those ‘lost’ women and children may be being trafficked to the UAE.

Researchers have said that many Russian oligarchs have sought refuge in the Gulf state to avoid international sanctions and are in need of Russian-speaking staff.

Although the issue of trafficking to the UAE is not in itself new, the report says it is set to be turbocharged due to the exodus of refugees from Ukraine.

Last night Florian Schmitz, one of the report’s authors, called on the West to hold those responsible to account, and pleaded with developed nations not to turn a blind eye.

He said: ‘Given the large-scale movement of vulnerable women and children from Ukraine into Russia since the beginning of the war, sometimes under duress, it seems highly likely that a number of them will end up being trafficked to the UAE and other countries.

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