Russia proposed exchanging Ukrainian children for soldiers – Zelenskyy
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Russia proposed exchanging kidnapped Ukrainian children for Russian soldiers. This is beyond comprehension and violates international law, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a joint press conference with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen.
"We do not exchange children. This is madness, which, by the way, the Russians proposed — we give them soldiers, and they give us children. It’s simply beyond understanding, beyond international law; it’s in their nature," Zelenskyy said.
He emphasized that children need to be returned, not exchanged. This requires the art of diplomacy and bilateral relations between the leader or state and the Russians.
"That’s why we involve so many countries, which, little by little, as much as they can, are helping return thousands of children kidnapped by Russia back home," the president added.
Deportation of Ukrainian children
According to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has deported over 19,500 children from Ukraine. More than a thousand of them have been successfully returned home.
The deportation of Ukrainian children was the reason the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
In addition, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the parliament of Ukraine) recently passed, in its first reading, a draft law establishing liability for the illegal transfer and use of children for military purposes by representatives of a foreign state.
