Experts, politicians, diplomats meet in Warsaw to discuss return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

Ukrainian and Polish experts, politicians, diplomats and journalists emphasized this during the ‘Deportation of Ukrainian Children to Russia’ conference, which was held in the Senate of the Republic of Poland, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

In her speech, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola noted that there is something deeply inhumane about Putin’s abduction of Ukrainian children and their russification. Over 16,000 children were forcibly taken to Russia.

According to Metsola, such actions are carried out in violation of the Ukrainian and international law. It is the crime of genocide, and it must not go unpunished.

Metsola emphasized that the EU stands in solidarity with Ukraine and is doing everything possible for the safe return of each Ukrainian child home. In her words, the EU provides support for the efforts to collect, document and preserve evidence regarding human rights violations and crimes committed during Russia’s war against Ukraine, in particular those related to the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland Tomasz Grodzki mentioned that Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children is a huge tragedy, resembling the worst in the history of mankind. He called the return of Ukrainian children home as soon as possible a task for the entire civilized world. Grodzki expressed hope that, sooner or later, Putin and his entourage would be brought to justice, as their attempts to russificate Ukrainian children must not go unpunished.

Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Poland Vasyl Zvarych drew attention to the Children of War government portal (childrenofwar.gov.ua), containing the stories of children affected by the Russian invasion, namely those who came back home after Russia’s abduction. In his words, these children describe how they witnessed the murders of their parents, mockery in the so-called recreation camps, humiliation over nationality.

According to Zvarych, a total of 19,484 Ukrainian children were officially confirmed as abducted or forcibly taken to Russia or Belarus by the occupiers. Some 4,390 of them are orphans. Only 371 children have returned home so far.

Zvarych emphasized that Ukraine is making every effort to bring Ukrainian children back. In particular, the Coordination Council for Child Protection and Safety was established, and the Bring Kids Back UA action plan was approved, uniting the efforts of the Ukrainian government and international partners.

The ambassador believes that the priority task now is to disclose the issue of deportation as much as possible, so that the entire world knows about it, and provide assistance to Ukraine and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in collecting the evidence of the involvement of Russia and Belarus in the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Oksana Lytvynenko, a Ukrainian activist and volunteer, spoke about numerous cases of abuse, rape and humiliation of Ukrainians who tried to save children from being taken from the occupied areas to Russia.

Marek Michalak, Poland’s former Commissioner for Children’s Rights, noted that Putin’s actions are no different from those committed by Hitler in the middle of the last century. He expressed confidence that Russia would be held accountable for its crimes against Ukrainian children and the Ukrainian people.