White House says Russia is listing deported Ukrainian children on adoption websites

UNICEF warns about the “terrible” situation of education for children in Ukraine due to both the war and the COVID-19 pandemic

June 13. () –

The White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, assured this Wednesday that Russia is including deported Ukrainian children on adoption websites, and that thousands of minors have been separated from their families to be transferred to the territory. Russian since the start of the war in 2022.

“Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, members of Russian forces and other Russian officials have deported hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians to Russia, including children who have been forcibly separated from their families. We are aware of new credible reports that Russian authorities are listing kidnapped Ukrainian children on Russian adoption websites,” Sullivan said in a statement.

In that sense, he has described the events as “despicable”, “atrocious” and that they are part of the “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed by Russian forces, and has assured that these children “must be with their families.” in Ukraine”.

A few hours earlier, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the dire situation of education for children in Ukraine both due to the war and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused interruptions in the education system for four years.

“Due to COVID-19 and war, the schooling of Ukrainian boys and girls has been interrupted for more than four years, the same time as all primary education in Ukraine. Around four million children and girls across the country continue to see their education interrupted, and approximately 600,000 schoolchildren cannot access in-person school at all,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Regina de Dominicis.

De Dominicis has relied on the latest available data for the year 2022, which shows how Ukrainian children were already two years behind in reading, one year in mathematics and half a year in science, and that since the beginning of the war this gap “has only increased.” And more than one in ten educational centers have been damaged by the fighting, which has also forced one in five to close.

“The war in Ukraine is destroying the country’s greatest resource: its people. Without increased investment and sustained financing, children and young people will not be able to access school and training opportunities, which are essential for the recovery of Ukraine. children, families and their communities,” he added.

That is why he has urged the international community to put Ukrainian children at “the center of the country’s recovery plans”, which includes rebuilding schools, investing in the education sector from the earliest years to secondary school and support both “learning recovery” and “essential competencies for career success.”

All of this will minimize the “long-term negative effects of the war” and “help build Ukraine’s human capital” to be part of the country’s recovery efforts.

Furthermore, he has asserted that the situation of refugee children in the surrounding countries is also serious, and that almost half of them, a figure that is around one million, are not enrolled in the schools of these nations; However, many access their own Ukrainian education online, which causes them to miss out on social interaction with peers.

“Above all, Ukrainian children must be protected from further harm: harm to their future prospects, their education, their safety and their mental health. This means an immediate end to the war,” he concluded. From Dominicis, who has not mentioned the aforementioned deportations.

At the end of 2023, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine documented the transfer of dozens of children from Ukraine and concluded that these were illegal deportations and a war crime.

Although, the commission’s own report recognizes that it is difficult to establish a balance due to the lack of information from Russia and because Ukraine, which estimates at least 20,000 minors displaced to Russia, also includes those who have crossed into the country with their parents.

In any case, the mission detected that the transfers affected children who had been orphaned or who had lost contact with their parents during the war, children who had been separated from their parents after the arrest of one of them within the framework of the invasion and children admitted to institutions.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued precisely in March 2023 an international arrest warrant against the defender of the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Lvova Belova, considering that she has committed alleged war crimes related to deportation. forced movement of Ukrainian minors into Russian territory, an issue that Moscow continues to deny. The court has also called for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.