A charity in Ukraine has revealed that 31 children who had been illegally taken to Russia from territories that Moscow had annexed have been brought back to Ukraine.
According to Save Ukraine, which opposes what it claims are illegal deportations of Ukrainian children to territory controlled by Russia, the children had been relocated from the southern region of Kherson and the northeastern region of Kharkiv in the country.
On Saturday, April 8, the head of the charity Save Ukraine, Mykola Kuleba, posted a message on social media that read, “Today we are welcoming home 31 more children who have been illegally taken by Russians from occupied territories.”
This weekend’s video shows the children walking across the border with suitcases and bags and then getting on a bus to continue their journey.
In what it called the “most difficult” of the charity’s rescue missions to date, Kuleba praised the “heroic mothers” who had traveled to retrieve their children.
The Ukrainian government claims that since the invasion began on February 24, 2022, more than 16,000 children from Ukraine have been deported to Russia, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.
The claims are refuted by Russia, which asserts that it has protected Ukrainian children from the harrowing effects of the war.
The International Criminal Court announced a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest last month on the war crime charge of deporting Ukrainian children illegally.
Similar charges were also brought against Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, by the Hague-based court.
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