Russia increasing deportations and abductions of civilians - Ukraine at UNSC

The Russian Federation has increased the pace of deportations and abductions of the civilian population in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

This was stated by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, who spoke at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, where the humanitarian consequences of the Russian war were discussed, an Ukrinform correspondent in New York reported.

"We note with concern that Russia has reportedly intensified its deportation and abduction practices in the occupied territories under the guise of so-called ‘evacuation.’ Like many of you in this Council, we reiterate that it is only the Russist troops that must be ‘evacuated’ from the territory of Ukraine. As soon as this happens, the atrocities of war will be over," Kyslytsya said.

He emphasized that Russia violates the fundamental principles of child protection in wartime. As a result of Russian aggression, 480 children have been killed, and 967 – injured. According to Kyslytsya, the Prosecutor General 's Office of Ukraine has verified 13 cases of sexual violence against children in Donetsk, Kyiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv regions. "The real numbers are definitely higher and our law enforcement continues the investigation," he added.

Kyslytsya said that as a result of Russian attacks, 3,185 educational facilities have been damaged, of which 330 have been fully destroyed. According to a UNICEF report, education for an estimated 5.7 million children has been disrupted. One and a half million children face mental health issues.

"The forcible deportation of children is nothing but a well-planned Kremlin policy aimed at aggressive indoctrination, ethnic identification change and the deprivation of Ukraine of its future generation," said permanent ambassador.

To date, the Ukrainian authorities have identified 19,393 children deported or abducted to the Russian federation or to the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia. Nearly 4,390 of them are orphans or children without parental care. It has been possible to return only 364 children, Kyslytsya said.

He called on the UN Secretary-General and the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict to give a proper assessment of the gravity of violations against children in Ukraine by the Russian authorities in the upcoming annual report.

"We believe that this report should contribute to ensuring accountability for perpetrators and justice for Ukrainian children – victims of the Russist aggression. The invasion of the Soviet permanent seat in the Security Council should give neither immunity nor amnesty to war criminals," (after the collapse of the USSR, Russia took its place in the UN Security Council in 1991).

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Monday the UN Security Council discussed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine caused by the Russian war.