Russia is likely sending some of the forcibly taken Ukrainian children to fight against Ukraine. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said this during a debate in the European Parliament in Brussels.
“The Ukrainian children who were probably abducted are now being sent back by Russia to fight against Ukraine,” Kallas said. In her statement, she did not provide specific data on the number of children who are presumed to have been sent to military formations.
Kallas said that more than 20,500 Ukrainian children had been illegally deported from occupied territories to Russia. According to her, this is a policy of the Russian government, approved by President Vladimir Putin.
Thousands of children remain away from their homes
The European representative referred to a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, according to which an organized campaign to erase the Ukrainian identity of children from an early age is being conducted in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
Kallas said that, as of November, 2,790 Ukrainian children had been returned. Among them are 13 children and teenagers who returned the previous week. She gave the example of a boy named Luka, who turned 18 and received a Russian military service summons.
“Every time a child returns with accounts of threats, psychological pressure and life-threatening conditions, it reminds us why we must use every opportunity,” Kallas said.
The European People's Party said that around 1.6 million Ukrainian children are under Russian control. This figure includes children living in the occupied territories and does not refer only to officially documented cases of deportation.
EU calls for access to and the return of the children
Kallas called on Russia to provide humanitarian corridors and mechanisms for reuniting the children with their parents and relatives. She called for the UN, UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other independent organizations to be given access to the places where the Ukrainian children are located.
“Russia abducts the children, North Korea indoctrinates them. That is how dictatorships divide the work,” Kallas said, referring to the expansion of sanctions against children's camps and organizations linked to the stay of Ukrainian children in Russia and North Korea.
She insisted that the return of every Ukrainian child to their family must be part of all diplomatic efforts to end the war. The European Parliament is due to vote on a resolution on the issue on November 12.
Sources: europapress.es, theguardian.com, euronews.com