The PACE recognized the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of the Russian Federation as genocide and called on the ICC to consider the possibility of criminal prosecution for this crime.

The relevant resolution was adopted at the PACE spring session.

It should be noted that on March 17, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of the President of Russia Putin and the Childrenʼs Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegally deporting children from the occupied regions of Ukraine to Russia.

The PACE resolution stated that Russia should immediately and unconditionally stop the illegal forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children, stop granting them Russian citizenship, and also allow UN and ICRC representatives to visit already displaced children and ensure their safe return.

• According to the state portal Children of War, 19,393 children were deported from Ukraine. The childrenʼs ombudsman of Ukraine, Daria Gerasimchuk, stated that since part of the territory of Ukraine is under occupation and the authorities do not have access to it, it may actually be several hundred thousand kidnapped children.
• According to Gerasimchuk, more than 70 camps have been created on the territory of Russia, in which forcibly deported Ukrainian children are kept.