US senators demand return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia before any peace deal

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a resolution demanding the return of all Ukrainian children abducted and forcibly taken to Russia before any peace agreement is reached to end the war.

Source: the resolution; Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service

Details: The bipartisan initiative was led by Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican Party) and Amy Klobuchar (Democratic Party). They were joined by Republicans Roger Wicker, Joni Ernst and Rick Scott, as well as Democrats Dick Durbin and John Fetterman.

The resolution emphasises that the return of abducted Ukrainian children is a prerequisite for ending the war.

Quote from Grassley: "Putin’s inhumane and unprovoked attack on Ukraine started the largest war in Europe since World War II. He has kidnapped thousands of children to brainwash and Russify them in an attempt to destroy their cultural identity and heritage. The United States ought to demand these children are returned before inking a deal to end the war in Ukraine."

Details: This is the first Republican-backed resolution in the Senate since Donald Trump returned to power that directly addresses issues related to the negotiation process with Russia.

Quote from Yermak: "Abducting children is not merely a war crime. It is an attempt to erase our identity and destroy the future of our nation. We will not allow this. Bringing back every child is our shared responsibility. And it is a condition for ending the war." 

Background:

• Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner, said that since the start of the full-scale invasion, the number of Ukrainian children illegally taken to Russia might be as high as 150,000. Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stressed that the children's names, surnames and dates of birth were being changed. The Russians are trying to do everything to make them "accept the new reality".
• As previously reported by Daria Herasymchuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Commissioner for Children's Rights and Rehabilitation, the Russians are using six scenarios to deport young Ukrainians to Russia. The Russians are taking them away from their families, killing their parents or "diagnosing" the children with illnesses that do not actually exist.
• In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights, for the abduction of Ukrainian children.

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