- Five Ukrainian children returned from Russia; thousands remain
- Qatar mediates reunion of six children with families
- ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian officials over deportations
Nearly 30,000 children, according to Ukraine, have been deported or forcibly removed from their families by Russia.
Five Ukrainian children have been repatriated to Kyiv by Russia, while thousands more are believed to be in Moscow’s custody.
Following mediation at the Qatari embassy in Moscow, six children were reunited with their families, according to a report by the Russian news agency TASS.
The outlet reported that five children were sent to Ukraine, and one was returned to relatives in Russia.
Thursday, Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children’s rights, stated, “A total of 64 children have returned to Ukraine, and six have been reunited with relatives in Russia.”
However, the Ukrainian government estimates that close to thirty thousand children have been deported or forcibly removed from their families.
Ms. Lvova-Belova asserted in July of the previous year that 700,000 Ukrainian children had been transported to Russia for humanitarian purposes.
Arrest warrants were issued by the International Criminal Court on 17 March 2023, targeting Vladimir Putin and Ms Lvova-Belova in connection with the coerced expulsion of over 16,000 Ukrainian minors to Russia.
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It follows Russia’s announcement that 9,000 children would be evacuated from the Belgorod region in response to Ukraine’s ongoing shelling.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, stated that some schools near the Ukrainian border will shutter early before the school holidays due to the attacks.
Putin pledged assistance to the civilians of Belgorod who have lost their homes and enterprises on Wednesday.
“We will accomplish everything that is within our power,” he declared during a televised meeting at the Kremlin. “There is much work to be done.”
Undoubtedly, the principal objective is to guarantee protection. There are various methods to accomplish this. They are challenging, but we will complete them.”
