Russia has “received” over 700,000 Ukrainian children since the invasion began last year. This is stated by the country’s children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova in a new report, reports The Moscow Times. Both Lvova-Belova and President Putin are internationally wanted by the International Criminal Court, ICC, because of the illegal deportations of Ukrainian children during the war.
In the report, published on Sunday, Maria Lvova-Belova stated that Russia received about 4.8 million residents from the Donbass and Luhansk regions, and that an “overwhelming majority” of the Ukrainian children arrived in Russia accompanied by parents or relatives.
Of the 700,000 children, 1,500 are said to be orphans, and that 380 of them have been adopted by Russian families. Earlier this year, Maria Lvova-Belova herself adopted a 16-year-old boy from Mariupol, Ukraine.
“It’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever met in my life,” said the 16-year-old during an interview published on the Lvova-Belova Telegram channel last November, reports CNN. Under what circumstances the interview was conducted, and whether he did it under duress, is however unclear.
Ukraine: The majority of children in foster care
Ukraine, for its part, says that around 19,500 children have been deported to Russia since the invasion began. Many of them are believed to have been placed either in foster homes or in institutions.
According to the Ukrainian government’s Children of War database, 386 of these have so far been returned by Russia.
Kremlin: ICC decision invalid
It was in March this year that the ICC in The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova.
However, the Kremlin has dismissed the decision as legally “invalid” because Russia does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, i.e. its authority to administer justice.