Dariya Zarivna, operational director of the Bring Kids Back UA program, said at the UN Security Council, the aggressor country Russia refuses to reveal the location of 20,000 children abducted from Ukraine.
- Russia is withholding information on the whereabouts of 20,000 kidnapped Ukrainian children, defying international laws and efforts for their return.
- The forced imposition of Russian citizenship on abducted children from Ukraine has led to discrimination and limited access to essential services like healthcare and education.
- The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, launched by Ukraine and supported by 41 countries, has successfully brought 1,022 children back home.
- The Montreal Commitment aims to ensure the safe return of all abducted Ukrainians, with a specific focus on children, in response to Russia’s aggressive actions.
- The documentary ‘Mutilated Childhood’ sheds light on the harrowing experiences of children affected by Russia’s war on Ukraine, underscoring the urgent need to protect their rights and bring them justice.
Russian officials systematically refuse to provide information. But to give you an idea, the commissioner for children’s rights in Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova, boasted that she had “resettled” more than 700,000 Ukrainian children in Russia, Zarivna noted.
According to her, one of the examples is the story of 10-month-old Maryna Prokopenko, who was kidnapped by the Russian occupiers from a children’s home in Kherson.
After the child was forcibly deported to Russia, she was given a new name, her place of birth was changed and she was given up for adoption to the family of State Duma deputy Serhii Myronov.
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