The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the decree of the President of Russia on the simplified issuance of Russian citizenship to orphans from Ukraine is an attempt to "legalize the illegal movement" of children from the occupied territories.
This is stated in a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
The Ministry considers the decree as a de facto legalization of the abduction of children from the territory of Ukraine, which grossly violates the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"Under international law, Russiaʼs actions can also be qualified as the forcible transfer of children from one human group to another," the ministry added.
The Foreign Ministry calls on the international community to increase sanctions on Russia in order to force it to stop violating international law.
- Since the beginning of the invasion, the Russians have forcibly relocated hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens to Russia, including children. The occupiers have already killed 243 children and injured another 446.
- On May 30, Putin signed a decree on a simplified procedure for granting Russian citizenship to orphans from Ukraine, including from territories controlled by the Donetsk and Luhansk Peopleʼs Republics. These rules also apply to children deprived of parental care.
- Prior to that, Putin signed a decree on the simplified issuance of Russian passports to residents of the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine.