After mediation by Qatar
Russia releases six kidnapped Ukrainian children
May 22, 2024, 3:45 p.m
Russia is said to have abducted tens of thousands of children from Ukraine during its war of aggression. According to Russian state news agency TASS, six boys have now been reunited with their families.
Russia has returned to their families six children kidnapped from Ukraine during its invasion of its neighboring country, according to a media report. A group of boys aged 6 to 17 were reunited with their families at an appointment at the Qatari embassy in Moscow after mediation by the Gulf Emirate of Qatar, the state news agency TASS reported. There are two brothers among the children.
There was no reaction from Ukraine. The Qatari ambassador and representatives of the Russian children’s rights representative Maria Lwowa-Belowa were present at the event in the Qatari embassy.
An arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in 2023 against Lwowa-Belowa and against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia. The Kremlin rejects the accusation.
Since July 2023, Qatar has helped return dozens of children abducted to Russia and occupied territories during the conflict. Some of these children’s parents were killed, some separated from their guardians by rapidly shifting front lines. Still others lived in Ukrainian orphanages in areas that Russia eventually occupied.