According to Belarusian opposition leaders, 2,150 Ukrainian children have been taken to so-called recreational camps and sanatoriums in the territory of Belarus.
The administration of Belarus has participated in the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, according to a recent report by the Belarusian opposition.
The group says in its report that 2,150 Ukrainian children have been taken to so-called recreational camps and sanatoriums in the territory of Belarus. It is said that among the children taken to Belarus are, among other things, orphans between the ages of 6 and 15.
According to Reuters, Ukraine is investigating Belarus’ alleged role in the forced transfers of children. The news agency was told about this by the Attorney General of Ukraine Andriy Kostinin office, according to which prosecutors have opened criminal proceedings related to the forced relocation of more than 19,000 children from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kharkiv regions.
– The facts and circumstances related to the taking of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the so-called recreation camps in Belarus are currently under investigation, the office adds in relation to the above-mentioned criminal procedure.
According to Reuters, the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko the office has not responded to the inquiries sent by the news agency on the matter.
Transfers of children to Belarus are illegal and against the Geneva Conventions and the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the report of the Belarusian opposition states.
The first group of around 350 children arrived in Belarus from the occupied Donetsk region at the end of September, the second group at the end of September and the third group in mid-October. More forced relocations took place in April and May of this year.
The children were taken from the occupied territories of Ukraine by bus to Russia, and from there by train to Belarus, the report says.
– Lukashenko personally ordered the transfer of the orphans to Belarus and facilitated the arrangements and financing of their transfer, the report says.
Source: Reuters