War in Ukraine: the drama of Ukrainian children deported to Russia by Vladimir Putin

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, there has been no shortage of tragic images, from the bombings in Kyiv, Mariupol, Kherson or Kharkiv to the massacres in Boucha or Izyoum, millions of exiles who lost everything and fled the fighting in the soldiers holding the front in trenches. But the images of Ukrainian children kidnapped and deported by Vladimir Putin and his formidable commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, are chilling. The fate of these children, torn from their families, from their carefree lives, should have a greater impact than that reserved for them.

Dmytro Loubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, estimated the number of Ukrainian children deported by Russia at more than 19,500. A number which only represents documented cases and which could be much higher. Some estimates suggest up to 200,000 children have been affected since 2014, the date of the annexation of Crimea.

Deported sometimes 7,000 km from Ukraine

Last March, the European Parliament called for new efforts to free deported Ukrainian children who live in terrible physical and psychological conditions. A Yale University report counted 43 camps housing at least 6,000 Ukrainian children, spread across Russian (or Russian-controlled) territory, from the Black Sea to Magadan in the Far East. , approximately 7,000 km from Ukraine. Dmytro Loubinets recently explained that these children are being indoctrinated and brainwashed by Russian propaganda, having no access to any Ukrainian media or news from their country.

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REPORTING. War in Ukraine: deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia “is a tragedy for the whole world”

The repatriation of these children home to Ukraine is all the more urgent since the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023, Moscow has accelerated the issuance of Russian passports. and Kyiv is thus gradually losing track of its young nationals. The NGO “Save Ukraine” is mobilizing to save these children, Unicef ​​is also helping with repatriation and also supporting Ukrainian orphans. An International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children was created and held its first meeting in Kyiv last December. A working group called “Bring Kids Back” was launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

France is mobilizing

“We demand that Russia return Ukrainian children to their families, legal guardians and communities. We remain committed to enabling this return and supporting the efforts and mediations undertaken with this objective in mind, including the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children, co-chaired by Canada and Ukraine, and supported by France,” they wrote on October 4 the Canadian and French Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly and Jean-Noël Barrot. The latter was able to meet families during his recent visit to Ukraine. France will strengthen its financial support to several civil society actors and the United Nations.

Qatar, South Africa and the Vatican offered their services as intermediaries to support and negotiate the return of children during the “Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s 10-Point Peace Formula ”, which ended on 1^is November in Montreal.

The mobilization does not weaken, as does the hope of seeing the children return.