The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has reacted to Putin's signing of a decree granting Russian citizenship to Ukrainian children who have been abducted and left without parental care. The corresponding statement appeared on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The Ministry reminded that on January 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On defining certain categories of foreign citizens and stateless persons who have the right to apply for Russian Federation citizenship." According to the decree, Ukrainian orphaned children and children left without parental care can obtain Russian citizenship at the personal decision of Putin. Leaders of Russian organizations where Ukrainian children are forcibly located can submit such applications to the President of Russia.

"This latest 'normative legal act,' in addition to its orientation to meet the demographic needs of the aggressor country at the expense of migrants for the continuation of armed aggression against Ukraine, also grossly violates the legislation of Ukraine, norms of international law, and the rights of children - citizens of Ukraine who were forcibly displaced to the territory of the aggressor state during the large-scale Russian offensive," the statement said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that such actions violate the norms of international humanitarian law and aim to deprive children of the opportunity to return to Ukraine. The Ministry added that all children forcibly taken by Russia remain Ukrainian citizens, and the authorities take all possible measures to protect and return them.

"The real value of this decree lies solely in the fact that it will serve as another piece of evidence of Russia's crimes against Ukraine, the forcible assimilation of Ukrainian children, and an attempt to deprive them of their own Motherland. We call on the International Criminal Court to take into account these actions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in transferring Ukrainian children from one national group to another, including through the forced granting of Russian citizenship, which is one of the signs of genocide. We urge the international community to promptly implement the ICC arrest warrant issued for Vladimir Putin, taking the necessary measures for his apprehension and transfer to the institutions of international justice," added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.