Ukrainian children abducted by Russia 'suffer psychological or physical abuse', UN says

Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova accused of war crimes Photo: MIKHAIL METZEL/POOL Sputnik KREMLIN

Ukrainian children, allegedly abducted by Russia are subject to «psychological or physical abuse», the United Nations said, expressing concern about the lack of a system for their return.

‌Ukrainian authorities say they have identified and tested nearly 20,000 children who were taken to Russia with since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion.

‌Nada Al-Nashif, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she was “gravely concerned” about the situation.

“There is no established system for the return of Ukrainian children who have been transferred to other regions in Russian-occupied territory or to the Russian Federation,” Ms. Al-Nashif told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

‌ “ Among the children who were reunited with their families after relatives came to the Russian Federation to pick them up, some said they experienced or witnessed psychological or physical violence at the hands of educational institution staff,” she added.

< p>Ukraine says it has repatriated more than 400 children to date and has warned that the actual number taken by Russia could be higher than the nearly 20,000 confirmed so far.

‌Kiev does not know the exact figure because that he doesn't know. have access to Russia or to parts of the occupied territory in the south and east of Ukraine.

‌Moscow has repeatedly denied forcibly removing Ukrainian children, saying it moved those who ended up in orphanages or without parental care to Russia for their own safety and placed as many of them there as possible with relatives.

‌But the International Criminal Court has accused Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova of the war crime of illegally deporting Ukrainian children.

In health camps

Earlier this year, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph revealed a system of re-education in “Russification” of children illegally taken from Ukraine.

‌Some ended up in health camps on the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, while others were held in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine itself.

‌Children in the camps were shown films as part of their «Talk About Essentials» class, a new compulsory subject promoting the virtues of life in Russia, and were exposed to propaganda designed to portray Moscow as their main protector.

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‌On rare occasions schools and summer camps provided military training, and some children were sent to Chechnya, known for its brutality and rights violations.