Provided information on only a portion of abducted Ukrainian children: Yermak commented on Russian statements
Kyiv • UNN
Andriy Yermak reported that Russia provided fragmented information regarding less than a fifth of the children from a list of 339 names. There is no information about more than 200 children, including those from the Kherson Children's Home.
Following the results of the negotiations in Istanbul, Russia provided information on less than a fifth of the children from the initial list of 339 names of abducted Ukrainian children; for more than 200 children, including pupils of the Kherson Children's Home, no information is available. This was stated by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, writes UNN.
The initial list of 339 names was handed over by Ukraine in Istanbul as a confidence-building measure. The response received from the Russian side to date is fragmented — only partial information has been provided regarding less than a fifth of the children from the initial list. For more than 200 children, including pupils of the Kherson Children's Home, there has been no reaction whatsoever. The assertion of "full processing of the list," to put it mildly, does not correspond to reality.
Yermak noted that he was forced to make such comments because after the round of negotiations in Istanbul, a representative of the Russian delegation voiced a number of statements to the media regarding the initial list of abducted children previously handed over by Ukraine. According to Yermak, the Ukrainian side is currently "deliberately giving restrained public comments, striving to preserve space for substantive dialogue and avoid politicizing a sensitive track. At the same time, given the distorted and manipulative nature of certain statements, we consider it necessary to provide clarification."
Separately, mention was made of a part of the children allegedly already returned. In fact, it is about only 6 children, 5 of whom are from the same family, who were returned last week. This became possible thanks to a long humanitarian process mediated by the State of Qatar, which lasted more than a year. This case primarily demonstrates the results of Qatar's mediation.
Regarding individuals whom the Russian side stated had reached adulthood — this refers, in particular, to pupils of the Oleshky boarding school for disabled people, among whom there were both children and individuals who had reached adulthood. "Their forced displacement is a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Reaching the age of 18 does not cancel the fact of committing a war crime and does not deprive these individuals of the right to return home," emphasized the head of the President's Office.
It was also publicly stated that some of the children from the initial list are allegedly in Europe. At the same time, all that the Russian side reported to Ukraine, citing its own law enforcement agencies, is that two children allegedly left the territory of the Russian Federation. However, neither the country of border crossing nor other details were specified. If two Ukrainian children indeed left the territory of the Russian Federation, Ukraine expects full information from Russia about the circumstances of their departure.
Yermak noted that Ukraine remains open to further interaction in this humanitarian track and expects a full and meaningful response regarding every child from the previously submitted initial list of abducted children.