Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on September 30. During the dialogue, the parties paid special attention to the issue of returning Ukrainian children abducted by the Russian Federation, as well as the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is under the occupation of Russian troops.
This is reported by Kyiv24
International Coalition and the Issue of Returning Children
The President emphasized the importance of global support for the initiative to return all Ukrainian children illegally taken to Russia. According to Zelensky, this year Ukraine will present a draft resolution on this matter to the UN General Assembly and is actively working with international partners to ensure its approval.
“We discussed the summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and the resolution that Ukraine is preparing for the General Assembly. We expect the world to support the need to return all Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. We will present the draft resolution this year. We are working with countries to ensure support,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
According to official data from Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale war, over 20,000 Ukrainian children have found themselves in Russia and in temporarily occupied territories. At the same time, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, claims that Russia may have illegally deported about 150,000 children, while the Parliamentary Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Daria Gerasimchuk, cites an estimate of 200,000 to 300,000.
Zelensky stated that thanks to the Bring Kids Back UA initiative and the support of partners, 1,625 Ukrainian children have already been returned home.
The Situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Its Dangers
The President also drew attention to the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been completely disconnected from electricity for the seventh day due to shelling and damage to power lines. Zelensky emphasized that the global community must be aware of the potential consequences of these actions and the need for urgent response.
Additionally, during the conversation, the issue of the Gaza Strip and the peace initiative of US President Donald Trump was raised. Zelensky expressed Ukraine’s readiness to participate in the implementation of peace proposals.
The President also reminded that during the meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in New York, he outlined that the children deported by Russia have become victims of a “double crime”: first, they were abducted and taken away, and now there are attempts to deprive them of their identity, culture, and connections with their families.
He noted that the first charge for which the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin concerned crimes against children.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and the Russian Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of committing war crimes — forced deportations and the displacement of populations, including children, from occupied territories of Ukraine.
At the same time, Russian Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova stated in the summer of 2023 that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has “accepted” about 4.8 million citizens of Ukraine, among whom over 700,000 are children. According to her, most Ukrainian children allegedly arrived in Russia with relatives or parents.