The European Parliament voted on May 8 for a resolution calling for the return of Ukrainian children who were illegally taken away or deported by Russia.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
The resolution was supported by the five leading political groups of the European Parliament: EPP, S\&D, Renew Europe, Verts/ALE and ECR.
The document states that:
- The European Parliament condemns Russiaʼs crimes against Ukrainian children — murders, forced removal, deportations, illegal adoptions, sexual violence, forced Russification and the recruitment of children into war. The role of Belarus is also mentioned separately.
- MEPs demand that these crimes be stopped, that international organizations be given access to all the children who were taken away, and that they be returned to Ukraine — without any conditions.
- The deputies propose to expand sanctions against those involved in these actions, both against individuals and against institutions.
- They especially condemn the forced issuance of Russian passports and state adoption programs, which are used to destroy the Ukrainian identity of children.
- The European Parliament calls for closer cooperation with Ukraine and international structures to establish the fate of all missing and deported children.
- The deputies also emphasize that these crimes should be investigated at the international level, in particular through the creation of a Special Tribunal.
Lubinets notes: The European Parliament directly says that there can be no peace agreement without the return of all children and punishment of Russia.
- The deportation of Ukrainian children is one of Russiaʼs war crimes, for which the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian Childrenʼs Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
- At least 19,546 Ukrainian children are known to have been forcibly deported to Russia, with fewer than 400 of them successfully returned. Ukraine also has evidence that Belarus is involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
- At a briefing on March 20, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would work to return all Ukrainian deported children. At that time, the president did not have their exact number — different information came at different times. The most difficult situation may be with orphans.
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