Russia has announced plans to hold an informal meeting of the UN Security Council in early April to discuss what it calls the “real situation” of Ukrainian children taken to Russia. The move comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes related to the abduction of children. Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia stated that Moscow had planned the meeting long before the ICC’s announcement and that Russia holds the rotating presidency of the council in April.
The ICC accused Putin of being responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children and the transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. Ukraine welcomed the announcement as a first step towards accountability by Russia for crimes since its invasion of Ukraine began last year. Moscow, however, dismissed the ICC’s action as “legally void” and “outrageous”.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported on Thursday that there is evidence of the illegal transfer of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia. The commission concluded that the forced deportations violate international humanitarian law and amount to a war crime. Ukraine claims that 16,221 children have been taken to Russia since the war began.
Vladimir Putin (Via Vladimir Putin/Twitter)
Russia’s Nebenzia claimed that the children were taken to Russia “simply because we wanted to spare them of the danger that military activities may bring”. When asked whether Russia plans to return the children, he replied, “When conditions are safe, of course. Why not?” Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that Kyiv has brought back 15 more children deported by Russian forces from Ukraine’s south and north east.
The issue of Ukrainian children being taken to Russia has entered the spotlight with the ICC’s announcement, and Russia’s plan to hold a Security Council meeting aims to provide an alternative narrative to the ICC’s findings. However, the ICC’s accusations and the UN Commission’s report raise serious concerns about Russia’s actions in Ukraine and its treatment of Ukrainian children.
