Eleven Ukrainian children were due to leave Russia for Ukraine on Monday to be reunited with their families, a new transfer carried out with the mediation of Qatar.
Aged between 2 and 16, these children and their relatives were welcomed Monday at the Qatari embassy in Moscow and are due to reach Ukraine on Tuesday via Belarusian territory, AFP journalists noted.
Some children in this group, two of whom are aged five and six, suffer from chronic illnesses and have specific medical needs.
A total of 59 children have already been repatriated to Ukraine through this mechanism, according to Moscow.
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Russia is accused by Kiev of having
“deported”
thousands of children to its territory from the regions it occupies in Ukraine.
Moscow, for its part, assures that it transferred these children to ensure their safety in the face of fighting and to be ready to hand them over to their relatives in Ukraine if they request it.
The International Criminal Court last year issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for
"war crimes"
over the policy.
A decision that the Kremlin considers null and void.
Mediation “as long as it is necessary”
“Qatar is working closely with its Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, making progress on the reunification initiative, but also seeking ways to build confidence in other areas
,” said Lolwah al-Khater, Minister of State for Qatar International Cooperation, in a press release.
“We will continue to mediate between the two parties for as long as necessary, with the hope that this can lead to a de-escalation of the conflict
,” she added.
Qatari diplomats will accompany the eleven Ukrainian children on their route to Ukraine.
Among them, Adelia, 13, who must join her aunt after losing her mother during the fighting in her village of Mikhaïlovka, near Melitopol, in the south-east of Ukraine, today occupied by Russian forces.
A 4-year-old boy, who left for Krasnoyarsk, in eastern Siberia, with his father, now seriously ill, was picked up in Moscow by his Ukrainian mother, who brought him back to kyiv.
A 16-year-old boy who lost his family during the evacuation of the Luhansk region, an occupied city in eastern Ukraine, returns to his aunt.
Another 14-year-old boy whose mother, a member of the Ukrainian armed forces, was held by Russia as a prisoner of war for several months in 2022, will also be able to see her again.