Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the illegal adoption of Ukrainian children by citizens of the Russian federation
The russian federation continues to abduct children from the territory of Ukraine and arrange their illegal adoption by russian citizens.
According to the information from the Krasnodar Department of Family and Childhood, over 1,000 Ukrainian children from Mariupol, seized by the russian army, were illegally transferred to outsiders in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, and Altai Krai; more than 300 children are currently being held in specialized institutions in Krasnodar Krai.
Such actions by the russian federation grossly violate the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, which stipulates the obligation of the occupying power not to change the civil status of children, as well as the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We call on the international community, in particular the UN, to condemn russia's ongoing crimes against children in Ukraine, as well as to take immediate measures against moscow to stop its brazen violation of international law.
All Ukrainian children, who were illegally displaced to the territory of Russia, must be returned to their parents or legal guardians.Â
The Ukrainian side will continue to document the crimes of russian servicemen and high-ranking officials to bring them to criminal liability.
