Ukraine is asking the international community for help to return thousands of children who Kiev says have been abducted to Russia. At least 11,000 children whose names are known, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address on Monday. “But those are just the ones we know of. In fact, more have been kidnapped.”
Andrii Jermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, discussed the issue Monday at an online conference, which also included UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and G20 ambassadors. The annual G20 summit is currently taking place in Indonesia.
“Our objective is to stop the forcible abduction or deportation of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation,” Jermak is said to have stated. Everything possible must be done to bring these children back and reunite them with their families, the chief of staff said.
The Russian army and authorities have already admitted that children from Ukraine are being brought to Russia. According to them, these are children from combat zones who are brought to safety or come to Russia for treatment or recovery. There are also reports of Ukrainian children being given up for adoption in Russia. Ukrainian children’s rights commissioner Darija Gerassymtschuk talks about 10,764 abducted children.
Zelensky thanked Guterres for taking the children’s issue to heart. “To bring back all the deportees, we need the strength of the whole world.”
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