The Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights of the Russian Federation has assured that 56 Ukrainian children interned in centers for minors in Crimea and Krasnodar are ready to return to their families in Ukraine.
“The children have been in health camps and in the Krasnodar Territory since October. With the consent of their parents, citizens of Ukraine, they have been temporarily sent away from the fighting with escorts to rest and recover,” said Maria Alekseievna Lvova- Belova on the official channel of the Telegram social network.
According to the Russian official, it was not possible to immediately guarantee the return of minors to their families “because the frontline has changed significantly in the course of the conflict” and the parents of these children have moved to other regions in recent months.
However, Lvova-Belova confirmed that in recent weeks a total of 33 children from the regions of Kherson, Zaporijia and Kharkiv who were in these centers for minors have been sent to their families.
This announcement comes just a week after the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova for alleged war crimes related to the forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children.
On Thursday, the President of the European Commission announced a joint initiative with the Prime Minister of Poland and with the support of the United Nations to rescue children deported to areas of Ukraine controlled by Russian troops or to Russia.
“The prime minister [Mateusz] Morawiecki and I are launching an initiative to save these children kidnapped by Russia. For that we are going to organize a conference – it is still the beginning, it will be a difficult job – to put pressure on the Russian Federation, Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference at the end of the European Council meeting, in Brussels (Belgium) .
Von der Leyen did not specify when the conference will take place.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and impose political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Information about the war in Ukraine released by the two sides often cannot immediately be independently confirmed.
Source: DN
