The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, stated that Ukraine positively assesses the latest report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine regarding the deportation and forced displacement of Ukrainian children.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Recognition of Russia’s Crimes at the International Level
According to the minister, the findings of the international commission confirm that Russia’s actions, particularly the deportation of Ukrainian children, constitute violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. He emphasized that such actions amount to crimes against humanity and are part of a coordinated state policy sanctioned at the highest level, including by Putin’s administration.
“The international community must increase pressure on Russia to compel the aggressor to cease its mistreatment of prisoners of war and civilian detainees, ensure their release, and return the deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children,” he added.
Scale of Deportations and Accountability for the Guilty
The Foreign Minister urged international partners to intensify efforts to hold the guilty accountable and to overcome the “sense of impunity” that Russia enjoys for such crimes.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations during Russia’s War Against Ukraine classified the deportation, illegal transfer, and enforced disappearance of children from occupied territories as crimes against humanity. Furthermore, the commission identified the delay in the repatriation of these children as a war crime. The published report details the findings of the investigation over the past year.
According to official information, over 20,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia or temporarily occupied territories since the beginning of the full-scale war. At the same time, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, suggested that the actual number of illegally taken children could be around 150,000, while the Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Daria Gerasimchuk, even mentioned an estimate of 200,000 to 300,000 children.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian Children’s Ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of committing war crimes, including forced deportations and the displacement of populations, including children, from occupied territories of Ukraine.
The Russian Children’s Ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova, reported in July 2023 that since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has “accepted” about 4.8 million residents of Ukraine, of which over 700,000 are children. According to her claims, most Ukrainian children allegedly arrived in Russia with their parents or relatives.