Lithuanian President calls on international partners to seek return of Ukrainian children
![Lithuanian President calls on international partners to seek return of Ukrainian children](https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/static/img/_/n/_nauseda_gettyimages_1245622571_e6821f84185a09fbcc9ad78154168cab_1300x820_1d99ea8fd3649404c080f74d3040d61a_650x410.jpg)
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda called on the international community to work together to ensure the return of Ukrainian children illegally taken by Russia, according to LRT.
Nausėda said that financial and military assistance to Ukraine is the duty of the entire international community, because only if Russia is defeated will it be possible to return the abducted children as soon as possible.
The Lithuanian president expressed solidarity with Ukraine and the democratic world, demanding that Russia immediately cease the crime and release the Ukrainian children.
He added that it is also important to ensure that individuals are held legally accountable for the illegal deportation of children, and Lithuania will contribute to international efforts to ensure justice.
Deportation of Ukrainian children
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been deporting Ukrainian children to annexed Crimea, Belarus, or remote areas of the Russian Federation regularly.
According to the Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, the Russians are forcibly detaining about 28,000 Ukrainians in their country. The deportation of 19,540 Ukrainian children has also been officially confirmed.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.