The UN refugee agency is unable to assess how extensive Russia’s activities are. The reason is that Russia strongly restricts the organization’s activities.
Russia gives Ukrainian children Russian passports and gives them up for adoption. In this way, it violates the central principles of protecting children, says the UN Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
– In a war situation, it is impossible to determine whether children have family or guardians. Until it is resolved, the children cannot be given the citizenship of another country and they cannot be adopted, Commissioner Filippo Grandi says in an interview with the news agency Reuters.
– The matter is quite clear, but I want to repeat: This kind of thing happens in Russia, but it must not happen.
Grandi is the head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR. He spoke to Reuters in Kyiv less than a week after his trip to Ukraine.
According to Grand, UNHCR does not have accurate information on how large a group of children are affected by Russia’s actions. The reason is that Russia strongly restricts UNHCR’s access to Russia.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has asked UNHCR to do more to help children in Russian-occupied territories who are experiencing this, Grandi says.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyi outlined mechanisms by which children and adults taken from Ukraine to Russia can be “defended and returned” and those responsible can be punished.
Russia has denied reports that it is taking children from its occupied territories in Ukraine.
“Intensification of fighting may lead to a new wave of refugees”
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees warns that the escalation of fighting in Ukraine could lead to a large number of new refugees. A large number of them are probably fleeing the war to another part of Ukraine.
When the weather warms up, those who fled abroad will also return to Ukraine, Grandi estimates. Last year, UNHCR estimated that hundreds of thousands of people had returned to Ukraine by the end of the summer.
During the cold months, the number of returnees has clearly dropped. At the same time, the number of people fleeing Ukraine to foreign countries has slightly increased.
Source: Reuters