Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak responded to a number of accusations from the Russian side after the third meeting in Istanbul on July 23 about the abducted Ukrainian children and denied the Russian theses.
The Russian side stated that there was a “full review” of the list with the names of 339 abducted Ukrainian children, which Kyiv handed over on June 2 during the second meeting in Istanbul. Andriy Yermak denied this and emphasized that the Russian Federation provided information on less than 20% of the abducted children on the list. Russia did not provide information and no reaction to more than 200 names. In particular, we are talking about the pupils of the Kherson Childrenʼs Home, whom the Russians abducted in 2022.
The Russian Federation also stated that some of the children on the list are allegedly in Europe. At the same time, all that was reported to Ukraine, citing its own law enforcement agencies, was that two children allegedly left the territory of the Russian Federation. The head of the Presidentʼs Office says that neither the countries of border crossing nor other details are disclosed to Kyiv.
In addition, the Russian side also mentioned those who have reached adulthood, in particular, the pupils of the Oleshkiv boarding school with disabilities — among them there were both children and adults. Andriy Yermak emphasizes that the fact that some of them have turned 18 does not cancel the fact of a war crime and does not deprive them of the right to return home.
Separately, Russia mentioned the part of the children that had allegedly already been returned. In fact, says Yermak, it is only about 6 children, 5 of whom are from the same family — they were returned to Ukraine last week through Qatarʼs mediation. The process lasted for over a year.
What is known about the deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation?
The deportation of Ukrainian children is one of Russiaʼs war crimes, for which the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian Childrenʼs Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
At a briefing on March 20, Zelensky said that Ukraine would work to return all Ukrainian deported children. At that time, the president did not have an exact number — different information came at different times. Previously, Ukraine had spoken of at least 19 546 Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
In June, Zelensky said that Russia offered to exchange Ukrainian children for Russian prisoners of war.
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