"Russia has committed genocide, Russia continues to commit genocide on an industrial scale, every day, every single minute," Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said in an interview with The Sun released on March 29.
At least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion, with only about 1,200 returned.
"It somehow disappeared from the media field. Although I think that this is the number one thing we were going for. This is an exchange for the return of our children, whom the Russians stole."
U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on March 23 that the topic of Ukrainian children illegally abducted by Russia will likely be discussed at the peace talks, adding that they will serve as "confidence building measures" for negotiations.
The Trump administration cut funding to an initiative led by Yale University that tracked Russian war crimes, including the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. The database included thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia and there were concerns the data may have been deleted.
Researchers reportedly lost access to the database last month after U.S. officials terminated the contract, cutting off critical evidence from investigators pursuing war crimes cases.
"It is not reasonable to demand that, for example, Zaporizhzhia or Kherson be fully handed over — that sounds like a f*** off to us," a high-level Ukrainian official said.
A Russian woman, Olga Dorokhina, took a 4-year-old girl from the occupied part of Kherson Oblast and plans to adopt her, according to an investigation by Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne published on March 10.
Through the President of Ukraine’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, at least 1,233 children have been safely returned home from Russian-occupied areas.
Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak said the children who returned home include a 16-year-old girl who lost her mother, a 17-year-old boy who had been issued a summons to join the Russian army, and an eight-year-old girl.
One of the children, a 17-year-old boy, faced persecution by Russian occupation authorities for his pro-Ukrainian stance and assistance to the Ukrainian army, according to Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
The Ukrainian Air Force struck a plant in Kamensk-Shakhtynsky, Rostov Oblast, that produces solid propellant for ballistic missiles, Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications (Stratcom) reported on Dec. 26.
Zelensky confirmed that Yevhenii Matvieiev, the mayor of occupied Dniprorudne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, was tortured to death in Russian captivity.
The study showed that Russian Aerospace Forces and military aircraft transported multiple groups of children in 2022 under Putin's orders.
Eight Ukrainian children have been successfully returned from temporarily occupied territories, the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said on Nov. 29.
In a statement released on Nov. 15, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the children who returned home from Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast include four boys, aged between 1.7 and 17. According to the Ukrainian government’s database, Russia has illegally abducted over 19,500 children since February 2022.
Key developments on Oct. 2: * Ukrainian forces withdraw from Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast * Ukraine aims to boost ballistic missiles, long-range arms production in 2025, Umerov says * 1.5 million Ukrainian children at risk of being deported to Russia, ombudsman says * 589 civilians killed in Ukraine in summer 2024 by Russia's
Key developments on Sept. 27: * Trump meets with Zelensky, says his views on ending the war 'as soon as possible' have not changed * Crimean bridge defenses being bolstered by underwater drone traps, according to reports * US intelligence warns of risks in permitting Ukraine's long-range strikes, NYT reports * Ombudsman denies reports
A spokesperson for the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fadi el-Abdallah, told the BBC on Aug. 30 that Mongolia, as an ICC member state, is obligated to comply with the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit.
The funds will be directly transferred to UNICEF in Ukraine, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Aug. 21. Canada will also allocate funds to international organizations providing services to Ukrainian children.
"We do not know the exact number of children who were taken away. We have managed to establish that it is about 20,000 children, of whom 800 have already been returned," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Seven Ukrainian children have been successfully returned from Russian-occupied areas of Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on June 21.
Over 19,500 children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and fewer than 400 of them have been brought back home, according to the Children of War database.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met Pope Francis on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy on June 14, and discussed topics including establishing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
One of the children had a new Russian name and a different age than the one listed on their Ukrainian document, and another had a Russianized version of their name. None of the information about the children indicated that they came from Ukraine.
"Despite a number of difficult challenges, the Save Ukraine team managed to make every effort, and the abducted girl is finally on her native Ukrainian land."
Three families escaped from Russian-occupied territories with the help of Save Ukraine. Three out of the six rescued children are half-orphans.
All children were transported to the city of Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea by Russian authorities connected to the ruling Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Argentina has joined the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, Ukraine's chief ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said on May 29.
Ukraine returned home an 11-year-old boy who had been separated from his mother in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast for two years, the Reintegration Ministry reported on May 27.
A Ukrainian delegation, headed by presidential adviser Daria Herasymchuk, visited Argentina as part of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Bring Kids Back UA project. The visit was organized by Ukraine's foreign ministry.
Qatar acts as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia to bring back Ukrainian children illegally held by Russia.
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