Most of the children who manage to be returned from Russia are teenagers who are able to defend their Ukrainian identity, while it is very difficult to bring back very young children.
This was stated by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, during a conversation with journalists, Ukrinform’s correspondent reports.
According to the Ombudsman, as of today the main goal of the Russian Federation is the drastic transformation of Ukrainian children’s identity into a Russian one. Therefore, it is necessary to continue pressuring the Russian side to demand the immediate return of Ukrainian children, since time, he said, is working against Ukraine.
“Most of the children who can be brought back are teenagers. It is very hard to return very young children. Because a teenager can at least say: ‘I am Ukrainian. I do not want to be on Russia’s side.’ And it is much more difficult for the Russian side to ‘brainwash’ them. But with small children, it is much easier for the Russians,” Lubinets said.
He also called on the international community to increase pressure on Russia, stressing that far too much time has already been lost and Ukraine has lost many children.
Lubinets also noted that when people talk about “freezing” the conflict or handing over territories to Russia, this would in fact mean abandoning Ukrainian people and children and placing them under Russian propaganda, under the threat of deportations, killings, or arbitrary arrests.
“That is why we continuously raise this issue publicly, run an information campaign about the deportation of Ukrainian children, and demand their immediate return from the Russian side,” the Human Rights Commissioner emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported, so far 1,902 children have been returned to Ukraine.
