By KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak called for establishing cooperation with international humanitarian organizations, ombudsmen and governments of other countries in order to join the mission to return Ukrainian children whom Russia illegally brought to its territory, the presidential press service said.
"Russia continues to commit its crimes related to Ukrainian children. Children are being taken out. Unfortunately, due to the very passive position of international organizations, in particular the ICRC, today we are not able to fix the exact figure of how many and where our children are," Yermak said at a meeting of the Coordinating Council for the Protection and Safety of Children on Tuesday.
According to Yermak, Ukraine can count on the help of the United Nations, which can support the creation of new sites.
"We must rely on ourselves, but also involve those partners who have demonstrated their readiness to help us," the head of the President’s Office said.
Yermak said Ukraine, independently and in cooperation with international partners, is trying to obtain comprehensive information about Ukrainian children.
It is reported that thousands of reports of forced transfer or deportation of Ukrainian minors are received through the Children of War portal alone.
It is noted that among the participants were government representatives, law enforcement officers, the ombudsman, MPs, experts and members of the public.
In turn, Adviser-President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation Daria Herasymchuk announced the start of a dialogue with other international organizations and global platforms on assistance in establishing data on children deported or taken to Russia and temporarily occupied territories.
Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereschuk said at present Ukraine has managed to return only 96 children, of which 69 from the territory of Russia and 27 from the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Meanwhile, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets is convinced that the forced deportation of children is a direct sign of the genocide of the Ukrainian people.
According to him, Ukraine collects and records evidence of criminal offenses against minor Ukrainians. The Ombudsman also said that representatives of the EU countries and his colleagues from other countries are interested in the fate of Ukrainian children deported to Russia and the issue of their return, and the commissioners are ready to assist in establishing information about such children.
