Russia says ready to return Ukraine children if parents request

Russia says ready to return Ukraine children if parents request

Russia’s kids’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, wished by the International Criminal Court for the “deportation” of Ukrainian kids, mentioned Tuesday she is able to ship kids again to Ukraine if their households request it.

Ukraine accuses Russia of getting “stolen” greater than 16,000 kids for the reason that begin of its offensive greater than a yr in the past.

Russia says it’s “saving” the youngsters from fight zones and that it has a process in place for them to be reunited with their households.

Last month, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian kids.

During a press convention Tuesday, Lvova-Belova mentioned she had not been contacted by “any representative of the Ukrainian authorities” concerning the deported kids for the reason that begin of the battle.

She mentioned mother and father might write her an e-mail to search for the youngsters.

“Write to me… to find your child,” she mentioned.

According to a report printed by her workplace Tuesday, 16 kids from 9 households have been reunited with their Ukrainian kin since March 29.

She refused to publish a whole checklist of Ukrainian kids delivered to Russia.

According to the report, 380 Ukrainian orphans have been positioned in foster households in Russia, together with 22 minors discovered deserted in Mariupol — a port metropolis nearly razed to the bottom earlier than its seize by Russian forces final yr.

Lvova-Belova mentioned adopted kids got Russian nationality whereas holding their Ukrainian one.

According to Lvova-Belova, one teenager delivered to Russia from Mariupol had been stopped on the Belarus border as he tried to return to Ukraine.

She mentioned he had been “lured back to the territory of Ukraine by manipulations and threats”.

AFP was not in a position to confirm this account.

Russia has dismissed the ICC’s order as “void”.

Source: www.anews.com.tr