Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russia of organizing illegal adoptions of Ukrainian children transferred from occupied zones to Russia. “Russia continues to kidnap children from within Ukrainian territory and organize their illegal adoption by Russian citizens,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
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According to the ministry, more than 1,000 children from Mariupol, the southern port city that fell to the Russians, have been “illegally given to foreigners in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and Altai district,” in Siberia.
The ministry relies on data from the authorities of Krasnodar, a city in southwestern Ukraine, not far from the border. More than 300 children are being held in “specialized facilities” in that region, it said.
Russia’s actions are “a serious violation of the Geneva Convention”, protecting civilians during war, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ministry said. “All children illegally transferred to Russia must be returned to their parents or guardians.”
“Deportations”
Kiev has accused Moscow of forcing Ukrainians to go to Russia rather than Ukraine-controlled areas since the invasion began. The authorities liken those practices to “deportations”.
Several families in Mariupol told AFP that they were obliged – against their will – to go to Russia to flee the fighting.
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