At the current pace, we need “50 years” to repatriate all Ukrainian children in Russia, lament Olena Zelenska
Olena Zelenska, Photo: Ukraine Presiden via Bestimage / Bestimage / Profimedia
Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, called on the international community to make more efforts to help repatriate Ukrainian children who have been taken to Russia since Moscow has launched the unprecedented invasion of Ukraine in 2022, reports News.ro citing CNN.
Zelenska warned that at present, it would take 50 years to repatriate all Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia.
The first lady of Ukraine said, however, that, thanks to the efforts of an international coalition made up of 41 countries and the Council of Europe, 1,625 children were repatriated to Ukraine.
“Behind each name are hidden for months of searches, negotiations and risks,” she said.
Ukraine accuses Moscow of deporting illegally or forcing over 19,500 children to Russia and Belarus, violating the Geneva conventions. In June, a report by the American University Yale estimated that the figure could be close to 35,000.
Russia denies that it has relocated children against their will and claims that it has voluntarily evacuated people to remove them from the war area.
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