New evidence unearthed of Belarus government’s crimes against Ukrainian children

Belarusian opposition’s Pavel Latushko handed over to Ukraine’s authorities additional evidence of the violation of the rights of Ukrainian children by the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus.

That’s according to a report by the Ukrainian Ombudsman’s Office released after its representative Oleksandr Kononenko met with Latushko, the deputy chief of Belarus’s United Transitional Cabinet.

"The meeting discussed the violation of Ukrainian children’s rights by the Belarusian authorities and the latter’s participation in the deportation of our younger citizens. Pavel Latushko reported additional evidence of war crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities," the report reads.

It is noted that the parties agreed on further communication and joint work to establish the details of Belarus’s involvement in the criminal activities the Russian Federation has been carrying out in the territory of Ukraine.

Latushko said not all children extracted from the occupied parts of Ukraine to Belarusian summer camps returned home.

At the press conference on Belarus’s role in the illegal removal of children from Ukraine, hosted by Ukrinform late May, Latushko said that at least 2,150 children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine had been forcibly taken to Belarus, where they were subjected to anti-Ukrainian narratives and the ideology of Ruscism.

On July 18, members of the European Parliament appealed to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants for Alexander Lukashenko. The document, approved by the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, states that Belarus bears responsibility for damages caused to Ukraine and crimes committed on its territory. In addition, MEPs emphasized the role of the Lukashenko regime in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

On March 17, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. Both are suspected of illegally deporting children from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

Also, in July, the head of the Belarus Red Cross acknowledged his involvement in the removal of children from Ukraine.

Photo: ombudsman.gov.ua