Putin’s decree “legalizes” abduction of children from Ukraine - MFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine considers Vladimir Putin's decree that streamlines the process of granting citizenship to Ukrainian orphans as an attempt by the Kremlin to legalize the illegal displacement of Ukrainian children to Russia.

That’s according to a statement issued by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Ukrinform reports.

"We consider the decree of the President of the Russian Federation to simplify the admission of Ukrainian orphans or those left without parental care to Russian citizenship as an attempt by the Kremlin to legalize the illegal movement of Ukrainian children from the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by the Russian army to Russia. By his decree, Vladimir Putin actually legalized the abduction of children from the territory of Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry stressed.

The diplomats noted that Russia's actions grossly violate the 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, which obliges the occupying state not to change the citizenship status of children, and the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry believes that Russia's actions can also be qualified as forcible transfer of children from one human group to another under international law.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has called on the international community to take decisive action against Moscow, including increasing sanctions to force it to cease its aggression against Ukraine and blatant violations of international law.

"The most serious international crimes against children committed by Russian high-ranking officials and servicemen in Ukraine will be investigated, and the perpetrators will be prosecuted. Russia will not be able to avoid the strictest accountability," the statement reads.

The Foreign Ministry added that Ukraine would take all possible measures, including at the international level, to ensure the protection of the rights and interests of abducted Ukrainian children and their return home.

As reported, on May 30, Putin signed a decree on a simplified procedure for orphans from Ukraine to acquire Russian citizenship.

As of May 26, Russia has deported more than 238,000 Ukrainian children to its territory.