Minister Vereshchuk: 373 children illegally taken by Russia already returned

That’s according to Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, who spoke in an interview with Ukrinform.

"To date, we have managed to return 373 children," said Vereshchuk.

She noted that she focuses her work more on the return of orphans and children deprived of parental care because the latter can only count on the government and volunteers.

According to the deputy prime minister, the children returned to Ukraine tell of mental and even physical abuse by the Russians. "Sometimes you wonder: how do children endure all this? Therefore, after returning to their Homeland, they should be enveloped in care. And here, psychological rehabilitation among the priorities," she emphasized.

Vereshchuk emphasized that Ukraine has repeatedly addressed the aggressor state in public and in writing, and noted multiple times that the illegal movement of children is an international crime, which has no statute of limitations, that all perpetrators will be held accountable, and that they will face long prison terms.

"They are aware of this all but they probably don't believe it. Too bad, because after the war, we will take our time to find and hold them accountable. All of them – be it senior or low-profile officials. And not only officials… Everyone who is involved in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, especially orphans," the government official emphasized.

As reported, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk noted that currently at least 20,000 children deported by Russia have been identified, more than 4,500 of whom have the status of orphans or those deprived of parental care.