Canada and Ukraine to launch coalition to return Ukrainian children

"Throughout the winter, we have seen that the tragic impact of this war on human lives continues, and attacks on Ukrainian cities have not diminished. Another reality of war is the tragic and illegal removal of thousands of Ukrainian children from Ukraine. They were taken from their homes, away from their families, and deprived of their language," said Jolie.

As the minister noted, the issue of returning Ukrainian children is a matter of humanity, so today, Ukraine and Canada will launch a coalition to facilitate their return.

"We will help Ukraine create a legal case to return them. Canada will engage the network worldwide. We will talk to many countries, including Brazil, South Africa, and Qatar. And we will inform the whole world who these children are," added the minister.

According to Jolie, Ottawa will discuss with other countries the issue of returning Ukrainian children and call for unity. It will also talk to those countries that have direct relations with Russia.

Deportation of children

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, occupiers have been deporting Ukrainian children regularly to Crimea, Belarus, or remote areas of Russia. This prompted the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for dictator Vladimir Putin and the authorized representative for children's rights in the Russian Federation, Maria Lvova-Belova.

Previously, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that Ukraine has managed to return a total of 517 children and 2828 adults, including only 150 civilians.