Ukraine was able to return 380 children from Russia
- Author:
- Anhelina Sheremet
- Date:
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has managed to return at least 380 children who were illegally taken to Russia.
The Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk told about this in an interview with "Radio Svoboda".
According to her, "approximately 380 (or 383) children" were returned to Ukraine.
There are no complete data on the deported children, because there are temporarily occupied territories, which are not allowed by international organizations. However, according to Vereshchuk, there are at least 4 000 Ukrainian children with status in Russia, i.e. children deprived of parental care and orphans.
According to the official data of the Ukrainian authorities as of July 31, 2023, since February 24, 2022, 19 546 children were deported from Ukraine to Russia. These are only those cases that were officially recorded — when the father, guardian or witness of the childʼs deportation reported it to the National Information Bureau of Ukraine.
- The deportation of Ukrainian children is one of Russiaʼs war crimes, for which Putin and the childrenʼs ombudsman of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova received an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Currently, at least 19 453 Ukrainian children are known to have been forcibly deported to Russia. Ukraine also has evidence that Belarus participates in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
- On April 27, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recognized the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of Russia as genocide. PACE called on the International Criminal Court to consider the possibility of criminal prosecution for this crime.
- On July 18, The Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are participating in negotiations on the return of Ukrainian children deported by Russia. Officials from Kyiv and Moscow compiled lists of children taken to Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich acted as an intermediary.