Russian official admits hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children deported - Ukrainian Parliament

Dmytro Lubinets, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, reminded that in her report, Maria Lvova-Belova, the Children's Ombudsman of Russia, stated that 700,000 Ukrainian children had been deported to Russia in 2022. He emphasized that this report was direct evidence for the International Criminal Court regarding the deportation of Ukrainian children.

According to Lubinets, the victims of deportation include children from institutional facilities as well as those who were left orphaned by the actions of the occupying military countries. Additionally, children with family ties in Ukraine are also being taken away.

"Such a policy towards Ukrainian children is a component of the genocide of our nation, it violates international humanitarian law, namely the Geneva Convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is a flagrant violation of the rights of children, who become hostages of the Russian Federation," the ombudsman added.

He called on the international community to take urgent measures to stop the gross violations of international law and facilitate the return of deported children to Ukrainian territory.

Lubinets also mentioned that he had approached the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, requesting Russian lists of deported Ukrainian children to be handed over to Ukraine.

Arrest warrant for Lvova-Belova

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and the Children's Ombudsman of Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of deporting Ukrainian children. Russians have been extensively taking them to their country and subsequently allowing them to be adopted.

On July 6, Ukraine returned home two children - 6-year-old Renat and 10-year-old Varvara, who were deported by Russian occupiers.