Ombudsman: Ukraine has returned 307 children from occupied territories

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported on March 6 that an 8-year-old boy was recently returned to Ukraine from the occupied territories. 

"At the end of February, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights received an appeal regarding the return of a child who was in the territory temporarily occupied by Russia. A few days later, with the assistance and work of the staff of the Ombudsman's Office, Sashko was met by his grandmother. Now the boy is in Ukraine," Lubinets wrote on Telegram.

Lubinets said, citing National Information Bureau, that 307 children have been returned to Ukraine. The National Information Bureau is a government organization tasked with collecting and sharing information on prisoners of war, civilian internees, and missing and wounded people. 

Russia reportedly abducted as many as 2,000 children from Ukraine into Russia since Jan. 1, Michael Carpenter, the U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, said on Jan. 13.

Russian forces have unlawfully transferred or deported thousands of Ukrainian civilians to Russia, violating the Geneva Conventions, Carpenter said.

As of March 6, more than 16,000 children were forcibly removed from Ukraine, according to the National Information Bureau.