Ukraine has recovered over a thousand chidren from Russia, 20 thousand still in exile

Source: Radio Svoboda

In his interview for Radio Svoboda, Ukraine’s human rights ombusman Dmytro Lubinets said that Ukraine has already repatriated 1,002 children from Russia and temporarily occupied territories with Qatar taking credit as a key mediator in bringing the exiled children back.

The ombusman though reminded there are still 19,546 Ukrainian children in the Russian exile although the real numbers of deported chi can be much higher. Meanwhile, Moscow holds back the information on their present whereabouts, which causes delays in their return despite Ukraine’s and international partners’ ongoing efforts.

The prediction is grim. “There are 1.5 million Ukrainian children living in temporarily occupied areas. How many have already been deported by Russia? We can only guess… but I am certain the number of deported children will continue to grow,” added Lubinets.