Currently, it is observed that Russia uses only Belarus to deport Ukrainian children to foreign countries. There is also communication with the Belarusian side regarding children.
This was reported by Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, to a journalist of UNN.
When asked what other countries Russia uses besides Belarus to deport Ukrainian children, Lubinets replied:
"As of now, we see this only in relation to Belarus."
The Ombudsman also said that communication with the Belarusian side regarding the return of Ukrainian citizens includes children.
When I publicly said that there was communication about the return of Ukrainian citizens, I did not specify age categories. I meant yes, including children. We have the opportunity to communicate with representatives of Belarus on all humanitarian issues
In addition, Lubinets, during the presentation of the Special Report "Overdusted. Russia's Systemic Policy of Destroying Children's Ukrainian Identity", Lubinets noted that
We have noted that the territory of Belarus is being used much more frequently for the deportation of Ukrainian children. In our opinion, this is in order to make it impossible to obtain official information that the children came from the territory of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation
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Lubinets reported that there is no final, general figure for how many more Ukrainian citizens remain in detention centers in Belarus, but communication with the Belarusian side continues.
In 2023, Lubinets reported that the Russian Federation could deport Ukrainian children not only to Belarus but also to other countries.