Russia and Ukraine have agreed to return a total of nine children to their respective families in the latest humanitarian exchange between the warring nations, facilitated by Qatar’s mediation efforts.
Qatar has played a mediating role between Russia and Ukraine on several occasions since the conflict began, helping to facilitate such exchanges.
Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, announced today that six boys and one girl, aged between six and 16, are being reunited with their relatives in Ukraine.
Lvova-Belova said most of the children were living in Russia with close relatives, mainly their grandmothers. One boy, aged 16, who had been without parental care since birth, was in the Alekseinsky orphanage. His brother has now taken custody of him.
She added that the children’s stories vary, and some are truly heartbreaking. The parents of a 12-year-old boy divorced, and his mother passed away earlier this year. Now the boy will go to live with his father in Ukraine.
Lvova-Belova also confirmed that Qatar’s mediation enabled the repatriation of two young boys of Russian origin, aged seven and nine, from Ukraine.
The older boy will be reunited with his mother after living with his father and grandmother in Ukraine since 2019. The younger boy is returning to his father following the death of his mother, who had taken him to Ukraine in 2020.
Lvova-Belova did not elaborate on how most of the children ended up in Russia.
Ukraine has claimed that since the start of the war, 20,000 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories without the consent of their families or guardians, describing these actions as war crimes and meeting the United Nations’ criteria for genocide.
Moscow, however, has argued that it is protecting vulnerable children from the war zone.
Also read: Turkish Defence Ministry concerned over Ukraine-Russia conflict
Source: ANA-MPA
