The first meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children took place today. At the meeting, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that decisive action must be taken to ensure that children live in their country with their families, UNN reports.
Russia itself claims hundreds of thousands of deported Ukrainian children whom it has stolen from Ukraine and is trying to dissolve in its existence. And we need the fastest and most vigorous actions to return all these children... I urge you to increase our coalition - to increase the chances of every Ukrainian child to live at home, to live in general, to return not in years, but as soon as possible
Details
The creation of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children was initiated in late October.
The purpose of the first meeting of the coalition was to identify practical steps of the member countries to support Ukraine in returning deported and forcibly displaced children home, as well as to engage the coalition countries in the implementation of specific projects and commitments that will ensure the safe repatriation, rehabilitation and integration of affected children.
The meeting also presented the Declaration of the Coalition on the Return of Young Ukrainians. According to the document, the parties agree to use all possible efforts to return abducted children and support the process of their reunification with their families.
In addition, the declaration provides for the provision of all necessary humanitarian, medical and psychological assistance to victims of illegal deportation.
Finally, it provides for support of international efforts to bring Russia to justice.
To recap
Ukraine has already managed to return more than 520 Ukrainian deported children.
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