Relatives of capital officials probably used orphaned children to escape abroad - ombudsman

Officials of the Children and Family Service of Kyiv and the Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children No. 1 of Kyiv sent their close relatives to accompany almost 70 orphans to Germany so that the former could probably escape abroad. This was announced by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, UNN reports.

Employees of the Ombudsman's Office accidentally became "investigators". As a result of monitoring visits, it was discovered that officials of the Kyiv City Service for Children and Families and the Kyiv City Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children No. 1 had sent their close relatives to accompany children abroad. In March 2022, when active hostilities were taking place near Kyiv, 68 children from the Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children No. 1 in Kyiv, accompanied by 20 people, were evacuated to the former youth camp in Wuppertal, Germany. These children are orphans, children deprived of parental care and children in difficult life circumstances

He noted that during monitoring visits, his representatives visited institutions abroad where Ukrainian children are held, one of which was the aforementioned camp. However, the Ombudsperson's Office staff was not allowed to visit the camp, allegedly because there were no Ukrainian accompanying persons on the territory, and the children were exclusively under the care of the German side.

"According to the German escorts, there were 55 children from the beginning of the evacuation, but according to the order of the director of the Center, 68 were evacuated to Germany. The question is, where are the 13 children? The monitoring group was not able to verify this data because the information was not provided," Lubinets added.

He also said that subsequent unscheduled visits were made to the Kyiv City Service for Children and Families and the Kyiv City Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children No. 1 to clarify the circumstances, review evacuation documents, and talk to the management.

"What we found out was shocking: the management has no information about the situation in the institution. The Service and the Center do not have copies of documents or any documents on the conditions of the children's stay in the care of the German side. We managed to find out that among the accompanying persons during the evacuation, the official orders included people who had nothing to do with this area and had only become employees of the institutions the day before, and some had never been employed at all. The most interesting thing is that these people include a close relative of the head of the Kyiv City Service for Children and Families and a close relative of the head of the Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children No. 1 in Kyiv. Among the accompanying persons there are also four others whose grounds for departure require further investigation," Lubinets said.

According to him, each of the accompanying men resigned from their positions after being outside the state, and none of them is currently working in these bodies.

"Moreover, they did not return to Ukraine. This fact suggests that it was all a 'planned action'. However, the leadership of the Kyiv City Service for Children and Families did not mention this at meetings or in reports. Nevertheless, he and the head of the Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children No. 1 in Kyiv continued to go on business trips to Wuppertal to meet with their close relatives under the guise of work-related issues," Ombdsman emphasized.

It was only in 2024 that the Ombudsman's Office found out that children from the Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children No. 1 in Kyiv were left without Ukrainian escort. Access to these children now needs to be requested from the German side, which acted in accordance with their legislation.

"That is why I have already sent relevant letters to the Prosecutor General's Office, the National Police, the Ministry of Social Policy, the National Social Service, and KCSA, where I have outlined all the facts. I expect a prompt and impartial investigation. After this incident, we will be more careful in checking documents related to foreign business trips... It seems that such cases are not uncommon," Lubinets summarized.

Recall

Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets called on UN General Assembly President Denis Francis to join forces to find solutions to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and hold Russia accountable for the forced deportation of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children, including a 10-month-old baby.