Russia began mass deportation of Ukrainian children six days before full-scale war started
Pravda Ukraine
Russia was carrying out mass deportations of Ukrainian children even before the full-scale war broke out. Over 2,700 children from orphanages and care homes had been transported to Russia by the morning of 19 February 2024.
Source: Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, on Telegram
Details: Yermak said the deported Ukrainian children’s names and their dates and places of birth were falsified, and they were issued Russian passports. Some of the children were later handed over to Russian foster families or adoptive parents.
Quote: “Russia justifies these actions as ‘rescuing them from danger’, but it was Russia itself that created the danger. The Russian Federation began abducting our children even before the full-scale invasion, which proves that this was a premeditated crime aimed at erasing the children’s Ukrainian identity and forcibly assimilating them.”
Details: Yermak emphasised that deportation is a war crime and a crime against humanity, for which “Russia must be punished”.
Quote: “We have been able to bring 1,221 children back, but many remain hostages of Russia. We’ll keep fighting to bring home all the Ukrainian children who have been stolen by Russia.”
Background: Human rights activists have reported that Belarus displaced at least 2,219 children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine between the second half of 2021 and June 2024. The displacement continues with the support of self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
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