Ukrainian Foreign Minister told Oulong that while most Europeans were spending Easter breaks with their families, Ukrainian Foreign Minister told Euronews that the Ukrainian deputy minister still left 20,000 Ukrainian children in Russia after his illegal deportation from Ukraine.
“This is the time for people to celebrate Easter with their loved ones in their family. These kids have no family. Many of them don't even remember their parents because Russia erases their identities.”
Betsa insists: “Ukrainian children are not negotiable,” and any peace negotiations and negotiations should include “unconditional returns of every child to return to Ukraine.”
Ukraine was able to verify Russia's deportation of 19,546 children so far. These are the children who collect details – their place of residence in Ukraine and their territorial location in Russia.
The actual number may be higher.
Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory will close to 35,000 Ukrainian children deported. Moscow claims that the number could be as high as 700,000.
The U.S.-based War Think Tank Institute (ISW) insists that the true number of children deported is nearly impossible to verify, “but the meaning remains the same – Russia has stolen dozens, possibly thousands of Ukrainian children, with a clear intention to eliminate their Ukrainian identities and transform them into Rasnians.”
Furthermore, the ISW's child theft was one of the priorities of Russian President Vladimir Putin, referring to the revelation of Ukrainian human rights activists.
They discovered the Kremlin document of 18 February 2022 that stipulated plans to evacuate Ukrainian children from orphanages in the occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions and bring them to Russia under the guise of “humanitarian evacuation.”
These documents suggest that Russia's plan targets Ukrainian children, especially those without parental care, even before the full invasion begins.
“In the following three years, Russia began a deep institutionalized project directed by the Kremlin to kidnap Ukrainian children and force them into the next generation of Russians.”
BETSA said 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain in the temporarily occupied territory.
What happened to the Ukrainian children who are being expelled now?
According to Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Russia deliberately eliminated the identity of children who were illegally deported.
BETSA told Euronews that tracking and identifying these children is a challenge because their names and IDs are changing, especially when young children are forced to adopt in Russia.
With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the first intentional deportation of Ukrainian children, Putin signed a decree to simplify procedures to obtain “Russian citizenship of people without parental care and powerlessness” in Ukrainian citizenship.
This constitutes the legalization of the process of expelling Ukrainian children and forcibly granting Russian citizens.
She added that Russia used these children as a “tool of positive policies towards Ukraine”, Besa said: “What Russia does is weapons to make Ukrainian children’s weapons.”
Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory has confirmed that Russia uses at least 43 children’s camps nationwide to accommodate deported children, with at least 32 of which are explicitly “reeducation” facilities.
Russia used these camps to instill Ukrainian children, “punishing them in their Ukrainian capacity and forcibly instilling pro-Russian sentiment through well-planned Clifflin-approved courses and “military enthusiasts” training courses.”
Bring the expelled children back, Kiev's “red line” to reach any deal
In an interview with Eurons, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister reiterated that there are no prisoners of war, those who are illegally detained, and without the return of every child, there is no just peace.
“These are the red lines of Ukraine. Every child should return to Ukraine unconditionally,” Besa said.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenakyy announced the matter that “in the recent ceasefire negotiations with Saudi Arabia and the United States, Kiev is focused on top of the list.”
In a statement issued after talks with Ukraine, the United States said it remains “committed to” returning Ukrainian children who have been forcibly kidnapped, as well as exchanging prisoners of war and releasing civilian detainees.
But the Trump administration cut funding for Yale’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory, which investigates and details the mass deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Under a 2022 contract with the laboratory, the U.S. government is responsible for its database. When the government cuts off its support, team members of the lab will lose access to the irreplaceable data they collect, including evidence of Russian war crimes.
The laboratory shared the evidence with European authorities and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was issued a warrant for the forcibly deported Ukrainian children.
In response to pressure from members of Congress, the Trump administration then restored lab funds for about six weeks to ensure that children’s critical data were properly transferred to the appropriate authorities.
Related
BETSA insists that Ukraine is forcibly deported in every negotiation, “Bilateral, multilateral, within international organizations, the United Nations, the European Council, including our bilateral negotiations with the United States.”
“These are the red lines of Ukraine. Every child should return to Ukraine unconditionally.”
