Today at 16:24
In the course of the ongoing full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the Russian occupiers continue to violate the norms of international law and resort to unacceptable actions – the illegal and forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens, including children, among them orphans, children deprived of parental care, as well as children whose parents died as a result of Russia’s military aggression, across the state borders of our State to the territory of Russia.
A blatant threat of illegal adoption of Ukrainian children by Russian citizens without observing all the necessary procedures determined by the legislation of Ukraine.
In this context, information about the intention of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation to sign “agreements” with the Russian occupation administrations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that would allow the transfer of orphans illegally deported from the territory of Ukraine to Russian families calls the particular concern in this context.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the states that are parties to this international treaty, including Russia and Ukraine are obliged to take measures to combat the illegal movement and non-return of children from abroad.
The Kremlin’s attempts to provide “legitimate” grounds for its criminal actions on the territory of Ukraine are a cynical disregard for the fundamental laws and customs of warfare and universally recognized human rights.
In fact, in violation of international humanitarian law and basic standards of humanness, Russia is engaged in state-organised kidnapping of children and destruction of the future of the Ukrainian nation.
Such actions of the Russian occupiers can be qualified as kidnapping and require a decisive reaction from the international community, primarily from the relevant international organizations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appeals to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNICEF, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children to accept urgent measures for the return of Ukrainian children to the territory of our State.
