Abduction of Ukrainian children justifies Putin's arrest warrant

The abduction of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and their forced deportation to Russia is a war crime.

This fully justifies the issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin by a court in The Hague.

This was stated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrinform reports.

"There is one topic that is particularly important to me - the topic of abducted Ukrainian children. This is a terrible reminder of the darkest times in our history. Deporting children is a war crime. We know today of at least 16,200 children were deported, and only 300 have returned so far. These criminal acts fully justify the arrest warrant issued by the ICC," von der Leyen emphasized.

According to her, the European Commission, together with the Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki and in partnership with Ukrainians, has launched an initiative aimed at bringing home these children abducted by Russia.

"We are at the very beginning of a very difficult journey. We aim to unite international pressure and take all possible measures to establish the whereabouts of these children. We intend to assist the relevant UN agencies and international organizations in obtaining better and more complete information about the children who were deported to Russia. This also includes those children who were subsequently adapted or transferred to Russian foster families," said Ursula von der Leyen.

She expressed her gratitude to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the offered assistance, as the UN agencies have vast experience in this very difficult topic.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 24/03/2023