Russia treats Ukrainian child deportations as a joke for 'childless grandmothers' – Zelenskyy

Background

Following the Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Istanbul, media outlets reported that the Russian delegation referred to the issue of returning abducted children as a "show for childless European grandmothers."

Later, head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky claimed that Russia allegedly could not provide documentary proof of Ukraine's claims about child abductions.

Moreover, he stated that Russia did not abduct, but rather "rescued" children in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy's response

"I want journalists to understand their (the Russians') attitude toward the humanitarian aspect. First of all, they told us not to 'put on a show for childless European grandmothers.' That's how they respond when we raise the issue of children," the president said.

He noted that Ukraine informed the Russian side that they had abducted 20,000 Ukrainian children, but the response was that the issue concerned "hundreds at most."

"Our team was offended by that. But to be honest, I'm not. I believe it's important not because of the number, but because they acknowledge the fact itself — that they took the children. We say it's thousands, they say hundreds. The important thing is that the fact is now recorded," Zelenskyy stated.

Earlier today the Head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, announced that Ukraine had handed Russia a list of Ukrainian children who must be returned.

Deportation of Ukrainian children

According to Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has forcibly deported over 19,500 children from Ukraine. So far, around 1,000 of them have been successfully returned.

The illegal deportation of Ukrainian children was the basis for the International Criminal Court in The Hague issuing arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights.