Russian ombudswoman reports about deporting over 700,000 Ukrainian children to Russia
Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian ombudswoman for children’s rights, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague, has reported that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russians have deported more than 700,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.
Source: Radio Liberty; Russian media outlet Nastoyashee Vremya (Present Time)
Details: In her report, Lvova-Belova claimed that the majority of Ukrainian children were taken to Russia together with their parents or other relatives.
According to the document, nearly 1,500 children from orphanages or children deprived of parental care have been deported to the territory of Russia as well: 288 children from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have been placed in Russian foster families.
The children from the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) have reportedly come back to orphanages they had been taken from, but later 92 children were also placed in Russian families.
From April to October 2022, the Russians have placed in Russian families 380 children from Donbas. The document says they were deprived of parental care.
Background:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has called a story about the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia "exaggerated".
- According to the official reports of the Ukrainian authorities as of 31 July 2023, 19,546 children have been deported from Ukraine to Russia since 24 February 2022. These are only the officially documented cases, when a parent, a caretaker or a witness of deportation reported it to the National Information Bureau of Ukraine.
- The deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia is a war crime. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova who are suspected of committing this crime. So far, the Ukrainian authorities managed to bring back only 386 children.
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