18 Ukrainian children were returned to Ukraine from Russia and Crimea. Most of them are from Kherson

The Save Ukraine charity foundation, which helps internally displaced people, returned 18 Ukrainian children from Russia and the occupied Crimea.

This was reported by the "Babel" correspondent from the childrenʼs meeting place in Kyiv.

The Russians kept 15 children in Yevpatoria in the "Radiant" camp. One child was returned from the so-called "LPR" and another from Anapa (Russia).

Most of the children are from Kherson, generally those who were sent to Crimea. The occupiers told the parents that they were taking the children on vacation for two weeks, but then refused to return them citing the threat of shelling.

One girl ran away from her home in Kherson because she was scared [by the occupiers] that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would come and rape her. She didnʼt say anything to her parents. On the way, she met a woman who was going to Dzhankoi. There she was handed over to the Russian military, and then she was sent to the Yevpatoria camp.

The boy who got into the "LPR" was kidnapped from Kupyansk. He was kept together with 13 classmates. They have not yet been returned.

This is Save Ukraineʼs fourth flight to return children.

• On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the Russian Presidentʼs Commissioner for Childrenʼs Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of directing the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, which is a war crime. Children were taken out without the permission of relatives and Ukraine, in Russia they were granted citizenship. For this purpose, Putin passed a number of decrees that simplified these procedures, and Lviva-Belova carried out his instructions. Together with their parents, up to 150 000 children could be deported to Russia. This is the fifth time in its history that the International Criminal Court has issued such a warrant to a sitting president.
• 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute are now bound to arrest Putin. These are all European countries, all South American countries, including some members of BRICS — an organization in which Russia is a member. Also, members of the ICC include Japan, Australia and Canada, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia and many other countries.
• On March 21, 15 Ukrainian children who were taken by the Russians from the cities of Kharkiv and Kherson regions were returned to Ukraine.