Russian official reports 700,000 children abducted from Ukraine

"In recent years, 700,000 children, fleeing bombings and shelling in conflict areas in Ukraine, have found shelter here. Many of them with their parents, and residents of orphanages with their educators," Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Federation Council (upper house of the Russian parliament), posted on Telegram.

As reported, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Russian presidential commissioner for children's rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of war crimes in the form of illegal deportation and transfer of the population, including children, from the occupied territory of Ukraine.

As of the beginning of June 2023, the abduction and deportation of 19,484 Ukrainian children, of which 4,390 are orphans, to Russia or Belarus by the occupiers were officially confirmed. At that time, only 371 children were returned home.