Illegal adoptions of children transported from the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia speak for Kyiv

Ukraine today accused Moscow of organizing illegal, mass adoptions of children transferred from occupied Ukrainian territories in Russia.

“Russia continues to abduct children from Ukrainian territory and arrange their illegal adoption by Russian citizens” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said in a statement.

“More than 1,000 children from Mariupol,” the city in southeastern Ukraine that fell into his hands Russian army, “were illegally given to foreigners in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and the Altai region” in Siberia, continues the announcement and relays the Athens News Agency. The Ukrainian ministry is citing information released by authorities in Krasnodar, a city in southwestern Russia relatively close to the border with Ukraine.

Besides, more than 300 children from Ukraine are accommodated in “special institutions» in the Krasnodar region.

These actions of Russia constitute “serious violation of the Geneva Conventions” which concerns the protection of civilians in wartime but also the UN Convention on the Rights of Children, according to Kyiv. “All children from Ukraine who were illegally transported to Russian territory must be returned to their parents or legal guardians,” the ministry stressed.

Since the start of the Russian invasion, Kyiv has accused Moscow of forcing Ukrainian citizens, especially children, of the occupied territories to head to Russia instead of other parts of Ukraine, a policy that amounts to “displacement”, according to the Ukrainian government. Many families from Mariupol told AFP that they were forced to go to Russia, against their will to escape the battles.