The head of the Belarusian Red Cross, Dmitriy Shevtsov, has publicly admitted that the organization is involved in the abduction of children from Ukraine and their transfer to Belarus. He hides this activity under the guise of "helping the needy."
Shevtsov said this on the air of Belarus 1 TV channel, Telegraf reports.
According to him, the reason why Ukrainian children are being taken to another country is for rehabilitation and humanitarian aid.
The head of the Belarusian Red Cross said that he was outraged by the accusations against the organization that they abduct Ukrainian children. According to him, the organization is doing everything possible to make "children forget about the horror of war and take a break, feel that there is an island of happiness." He said that Belarus will not stop taking children from Ukraine.
"And frankly speaking, the fact is that the Belarusian Red Cross has been actively involved in this – and will continue to be -" he said.
According to Euroradio, a representative of the International Red Cross said that the organization was looking into the matter. At the same time, Shevtsov was previously spotted wearing a uniform with the Z symbol during a trip to the occupied part of Donbas, but the ICRC said it was not involved.
"We are currently looking into the matter. It is extremely important that all members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement maintain their independence from governments and armed individuals. This allows us to provide assistance impartially, giving priority to people in need wherever they are, whichever side of the front line they are on," the International Red Cross representative told reporters.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba demands that Shevtsov be arrested for his involvement in crimes against Ukrainian children.
"I call on the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Dmytro Shevtsov, who publicly confessed to the crime of illegal deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine. All those responsible for the theft of Ukrainian children must be brought to justice," he wrote on Twitter.
Background. To recap, Pavel Latushko said that Ukrainian children who are taken out of Ukraine and sent to Belarusian health camps for recreation do not always return – their trail is lost in Russia.