The UN General Assembly adopted an updated resolution condemning Russia's violations of human rights in the occupied territories of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced on Dec. 19.
"The updated resolution of the UN General Assembly specifically requires Russia to stop forced deportation and ensure the safe return of all Ukrainian children and civilian hostages," Kuleba stated. "These are some of the most heinous crimes and they must be stopped."
Earlier this year, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that Russia committed numerous war crimes in Ukraine, including attacks on energy infrastructure, forcibly transporting children to Russia, and imprisoning, torturing, raping, and killing Ukrainians.
The investigators of the Commission visited a total of 56 locations and interviewed 348 women and 247 men. They evaluated the sites of graves, abandoned torture chambers and prisons, weapons fragments, destroyed buildings, and consulted "a large number of" documents and reports.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian government has identified over 19,500 children who have been deported or forcibly displaced by Russia, less than 400 of whom have been returned to Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Maria Lvova-Belova and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in March over their role in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
