Ukraine’s first lady on Tuesday called on world leaders to help return Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia, where she said they are being indoctrinated and stripped of their national identity.
Olena Zelenska said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly that more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred or deported to Russia or the occupied territories. Only 386 have been returned so far.
In Russia, “they were told that their parents don’t need them, that their country doesn’t need them and that no one is waiting for them,” he said.
“The kidnapped children were told that they are no longer Ukrainian children, but Russian children,” he added.
In his speech to the General Assembly earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky went further, calling Russia’s actions genocidal.
“We are trying to bring the children back home, but time is passing. What will happen to them?” he asked.
“These children in Russia are taught to hate Ukraine and all ties with their families are severed,” Zelensky added. “This is clearly genocide,” he added.
Russia denies the accusations, saying instead that it saved Ukrainian children from the horrors of war.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges for illegally deporting Ukrainian children. Another arrest warrant was issued for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, on similar charges.
Since Russia invaded the neighboring country more than a year and a half ago, more than five hundred children have been killed, and hundreds of others have been maimed or injured, according to Zelenska.
Ukrainian authorities are also investigating more than 230 cases of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers against civilians, including 13 children, the first lady said. Zelenska said the victims included 12 girls and one boy, with the youngest child only four years old when the crime was committed.
“I appeal to the UN Secretary General and the entire organization to help us save Ukrainian children,” Zelenska called on.
“Help us receive information about children brought to Russia… Help us get children out of occupied territories through special safe corridors. Our children need justice,” he added.
Ukrainian Attorney General Andriy Kostin said that to prevent global food shortages, the international community has successfully negotiated a treaty with Russia that will allow Ukrainian grain exports to continue despite the war.
Kostin called for a similar legal mechanism to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children. “The world has been very active,” he said, referring to the approval of the Black Sea Grains Initiative, from which Russia withdrew: “I think this is the moment for the United Nations to come together to bring Ukrainian children back home to bring. , any pressure and any communication would help.”
Source: DN
