U.S. House of Representatives condemns Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children - resolution
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Vice Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk.
"The Verkhovna Rada welcomes the adoption of the resolution "On Condemnation of the Illegal Abduction of Children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation" by the House of Representatives of the US Congress. 390 congressmen voted in favor of the document," said the MP.
She also noted that the U.S. House of Representatives, in particular:
- Holds the Russian government under Putin's leadership responsible for the unlawful and illegal abduction of children from Ukraine and condemns these actions in the strongest possible terms;
- Emphasizes that facilitating illegal adoptions constitutes genocide, as it contravenes Russia's obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
- Claims that the Russian Federation is trying to exterminate a generation of Ukrainian children and thus undermine Ukraine's ability to raise the next generation of citizens and leaders, to rebuild Ukraine after the unprovoked Russian war. The aim of these actions is to destroy the unique Ukrainian language, culture, history and identity;
- Notes that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has significantly increased numerous threats to the safety of children, including the loss of life.
"We are grateful to the authors of the resolution and all those who voted for their significant contribution to the international condemnation of Russia's crimes against Ukrainian children! These crimes must be spoken out loud to the whole world. They must be called by their proper names, and all those involved must be identified and punished," the Vice Speaker emphasized.
Abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia
On February 2, 2024, the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children was launched at the joint initiative of Ukraine and Canada. As of today, 33 countries have already joined it.
The abduction of children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is one of the many war crimes committed by Russia during the war. The exact number of Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia during the war is unknown - preliminary estimates are about 20,000.
Daria Herasymchuk, the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Child Rehabilitation, reported that Russia has 6 scenarios for abducting Ukrainian children:
- Russians first kill the parents and then take the children to their territory,
- remove children directly from their biological families,
- Separate them from their families during the so-called filtration measures,
- create unsuitable conditions for the child's life in the occupied territory, and then allegedly voluntarily offer parents to send their children for so-called rehabilitation or recreation, from which they do not return home.
- transferring entire special institutions with Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation.
- take children away after establishing some fake diagnosis that requires treatment or rehabilitation outside the home."
Searching for and returning children from Russia is difficult, as the occupiers allow the child's name to be completely changed during adoption, which makes it difficult to find them.
