The human rights commissioner of Ukraine has called for increased international pressure on Moscow to assist Kyiv in repatriating thousands of Ukrainian children who have allegedly been illegally taken to Russia during the war. Dmytro Lubinets, who spoke to Reuters in Kyiv, stated that more Ukrainian children could be brought back if Russia faced international pressure. He also mentioned that matters have become “easier” since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March. The ICC accuses Putin and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. However, Moscow has consistently denied these allegations, claiming that the transportation of Ukrainian children was done to protect them from fighting on the ground.
According to Lubinets, Ukraine has repatriated 406 children thus far, and they are uncertain about the exact number of remaining children as they lack access to Russia and the occupied territories in the south and east. However, the commissioner stated that around 20,000 children have been identified and verified as taken. The children Kyiv aims to bring back include those who were taken from orphanages, kidnapped from their parents, became orphans during the war, or were separated from their parents during filtration.
Svitlana Riabtseva, aged 39, was among a group of parents who were reunited with their children in western Ukraine after returning from Russia through other countries. Riabtseva shared her experience of putting her children, aged 10 and 9, in a state boarding school in Kupiansk, a town in the east occupied by Russia. When she returned after five days, she discovered that the children had been taken and transported to Russian-occupied Ukraine. Riabtseva sought help from Ukrainian authorities, who eventually brought back her children to Ukrainian territory. However, she mentioned that the children are still frightened and scared of everything, choosing not to discuss their experience.
The repatriation process for the children is described as “very difficult” by Lubinets, who is cautious about disclosing the mechanism to prevent compromising future missions. He mentioned that Ukraine is collaborating with non-governmental groups like the Orphans Feeding Foundation, a Dutch NGO, to coordinate the “Bring Kids Back UA” program launched by the president’s office. In the past two weeks, a total of 20 children have been successfully returned to Ukraine.
Source: Reuters
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