Zelenskyy launches BRING KIDS BACK UA to unite efforts to return thousands of children kidnapped by Russia
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched BRING KIDS BACK UA to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children deported by Russia, the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA)’s press service announced on Oct. 19.
The plan combines the efforts of the Ukrainian government, Kyiv's partner countries, and international organizations.
The MFA named the main goals of the platform:
- Identify and safely repatriate all illegally deported children in order to reunite them with their families and guardians in a safe environment.
- Establish a comprehensive psychological support system.
- Developing a strong infrastructure to support family education.
- Strengthen international support for Ukraine in the return of forcibly deported children.
- Holding Russia accountable by documenting its war crimes.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on April 27 recognizing the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide.
Ukrainian state platform Children of War reported at least 19,546 children have been deported or forcibly relocated by Russia, as of Sept. 27.
The European Parliament estimates the number of Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia may reach as many as 300,000. Its MPs believe that the Russians began to relocate Ukrainian children back in 2014, after the occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
In July, the head of the Belarusian Red Cross, Dmitry Shevtsov, admitted that he was involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children. The International Red Cross distanced itself from his statements and announced an investigation.
Since Sept. 2022, about 2,150 Ukrainian children over the age of six have been deported to Belarus, the British Telegraph reported in July.
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