Ukraine managed to return 1002 children from Russia and the occupied territories. This was announced on November 12 in Brussels by Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, in a commentary for Radio Liberty.
Lubinets emphasized the significant support of international partners, in particular Qatar, which is a key ally of Ukraine in the issue of returning children.
“Thanks to our cooperation with international partners, we see a steady increase in the number of Ukrainian children who have been returned from Russia and the occupied territories,” the ombudsman said.
According to official data, Russia has forcibly removed 19,546 Ukrainian children, but Lubinets suggests that the real number could be much higher and will continue to grow.
“There are about one and a half million Ukrainian children living in the temporarily occupied territory, and we do not have accurate data on how many of them have already been deported,” he emphasized.
Noting that Russia is resisting the rapid return of children and does not provide any information about their whereabouts.
The Ombudsman also added that Russia is delaying the return process, even when Ukraine, through its partners, transmits documents confirming that the children belong to Ukrainian families.
“We are constantly faced with Russia’s reluctance to return children promptly, even when all the necessary documents are available,” Lubinets said.
At a conference in the European Parliament dedicated to the return of Ukrainian children, Lubinets called on the international community to create a permanent body to coordinate these efforts, as well as to develop rehabilitation programs and prosecute those responsible for forced deportations.
According to Ukraine, more than 20,000 Ukrainian children ended up in Russia and the occupied territories at the beginning of the war, but the actual number could be as high as 150,000. According to Daria Gerasymchuk, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights, this figure could reach 200-300 thousand.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova on charges of war crimes related to the forced deportations of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories.
