Latest News

• October 4: Russian propagandists are gearing up for a series of media initiatives aimed at bolstering the reputation of Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights. Scheduled for 16 October, they plan to conduct a briefing for international journalists with the intent of rationalizing the removal of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories. The primary objective is to uphold the public perception of Maria Lvova-Belova in her role as Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
• October 4: Russia will open a new military-oriented camp for youth in Yevpatoria in occupied Crimea, where young people will be indoctrinated with Russian military ideology, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported. There is a high chance that deported Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories will be placed in the camp for re-education.
• October 4: Belarus arranged a tour for members of the foreign diplomatic corps to visit the locations in Belarus were forcibly deported Ukrainian children are placed. These are 44 minors, who had been abducted by Russian forces from the cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk (Donetsk and Luhansk regions). At the meeting, the representatives of Zimbabwe, India, Qatar, China, Cuba, Mongolia, UAE, Russia, Syria, as well as Palestine were present. Other states announced a boycott and refused to participate in the event, the conduct of which does not correspond to the principle of the best interests of the child and is aimed solely at legitimizing international illegal acts.
• October 3: A 76-year-old Ukrainian woman, who was deported by Russians to Belgorod region, was returned to Ukraine with the help of volunteers. The woman remained the only living resident of Dementiyivka village.
• October 3: The Parliament of Armenia ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest. Now, if Putin or Lvova-Belova travel to Armenia, they will be arrested and given to the ICC.
• September 28: Ukraine has established an informational initiative within Russia, with the goal of bringing back Ukrainian children who were deported. This campaign, titled If you know, tell! is being executed as part of the Bring Kids Back UA action plan, which was endorsed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Its purpose is to encourage individuals residing within the Russian Federation to take a stand against the involuntary deportation of Ukrainian children and to support their safe return to their homeland.
• September 26: As per information from local sources underground, the occupiers are making preparations to forcibly deport residents from the temporarily occupied Horlivka. Specifically, the enemy plans to evacuate the population of the Nikitovsky district of Horlivka, regardless of the residents’ preferences or wishes.
• September 25: The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has declared the individuals leading the International Criminal Court as wanted, following the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for President Putin in connection with the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.

Advocacy advances

1. The Regional Center for Human Rights, together with the Lemkin Institute (USA) submitted a new Notice to the International Criminal Court regarding Russia’s unjustified delay in the repatriation of deported Ukrainian children. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, only 386 children have been returned to Ukraine from Russia, although the number of Ukrainian minors deported and forcibly relocated to the Russian Federation exceeds 19,500. Russia systematically opposes the return of Ukrainian children, putting forward unrealistic conditions and creating procedural obstacles.
2. Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Margus Tsahkna, and the Estonian Ambassador to Ukraine, Anneli Kolk, visited the Ukrainian Ombudsman’s Office to engage in discussions about the procedures for repatriating Ukrainian children who had been deported.
3. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has outlined the key objectives confronting Ukraine and the global community in response to the forced deportations of Ukrainians. These objectives encompass acknowledging Russia’s actions as constituting genocide; securing access to comprehensive lists of all deported and displaced children for both Ukraine and international organizations; establishing humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians; employing OSINT methods to track the movements and whereabouts of deported or relocated children; and meticulously verifying and updating data pertaining to these children.
4. The International Red Cross is urging the removal of the leader of the Belarus Red Cross, who sparked global condemnation by proudly claiming that they were actively transporting Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled regions to Belarus.

Materials we facilitated

• An article on how deported Ukrainians survived in Russia despite its constant attempts to erase them
  https://ukraineworld.org/en/articles/analysis/ethnic-ukrainians-russias-lands
• Our researcher Vladyslav Havrylov wrote an op-ed about the involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church in the deportation of Ukrainians
  https://www.elindependiente.com/espana/2023/09/25/una-trinidad-impia-putin-la-iglesia-rusa-y-russkiy-mir/
• Our experts commented on the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children for Polish Onet
  https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/wstrzasajaca-relacja-z-ukrainy-tak-rosjanie-przygotowuja-dzieci-do-walki/9ev7z2g,79cfc278

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