European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that she and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will work with the Ukrainian authorities in a mission to bring home Ukrainian children taken from the country by Russia.
Source. This was reported by CNBC.
"The deportation of children is a war crime. In partnership with Ukrainians, Prime Minister (of Poland) Mateusz Morawiecki and I have launched an initiative to repatriate Ukrainian children abducted by Russia," von der Leyen wrote in a Twitter post.
Deporting children is a war crime.
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 23, 2023
In partnership with the Ukrainians, Prime Minister @MorawieckiM and I have launched an initiative aimed at repatriating Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. pic.twitter.com/kmjiW9KZgL
Ukrainian and Western officials allege that Russian forces have taken at least 6,000 Ukrainian children to camps and facilities across Russia for forced adoption and military training.
A report released in February by the Conflict Observatory at Yale University's Laboratory for Humanitarian Studies, titled "Russia's Systematic Program to Re-educate and Adopt Ukrainian Children," outlines the Kremlin's systematic efforts to abduct children and impede their return. The Kremlin's goal is to "re-educate" them to become pro-Russian, the report says.
Background. Meanwhile, it has become known that Russia is initiating a UN Security Council meeting on Ukrainian children taken to Russia.