Updated on 03/23/2023 23:30
According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, 16,200 Ukrainian children have been kidnapped by Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Now the EU wants to work for the return of these children.
The EU wants to work for the return of the Ukrainian children who are believed to have been kidnapped by Russia. There should soon be an international conference on this, announced EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday in Brussels, without naming the place or date. “It’s a terrible reminder of the darkest times in our history, what’s happening there, the deportation of children,” von der Leyen said.
International pressure should be exerted to save the children
“This is a war crime,” she said. “It fully justifies the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court,” she added. So far, 16,200 Ukrainian children have been kidnapped by Russia, of which only 300 have returned.
Also read: UN investigators say transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia is ‘war crime’
“We want to exert international pressure to take all possible measures to determine the whereabouts of these children,” he said
Cooperation with UN organizations
The EU wants to work with international and UN organizations to get information about the children who are said to have been deported to Russia. “This also applies to children who were adopted there or who came into foster families,” she emphasized at the end of the first day of the EU summit.(afp/jst)