Ukraine has returned four children from territories occupied by Russia

Ukraine returned from the occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions of four children under 16 years old. The smallest child is less than a year old. This was announced by the founder and head of the Save Ukraine Humanitarian Fund Nikolai Kuleb.

“4 more children from the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions were returned by our Save Ukraine team. Children from 0 to 16 years old. They are all safe now in one of our centers,” Kuleba shared the details .

According to him, the 15 rescue mission is now ongoing, today these are already 235 children who have managed to return to Ukraine from the occupation and territory of Russia.

As reported, the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Child Rights Daria Gerasimchuk previously informed that, as of the end of March, Ukrainian authorities are known for sure about more than 19.5 thousand children exported from temporarily occupied territories in the Russian Federation, but they are difficult to accurately calculate due to the occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine.

On January 4, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order "On determining certain categories of foreign citizens and stateless persons who have the right to apply for an admission to citizenship of the Russian Federation."

It notes that the children of orphans and children who are without parental guardianship who are citizens of Ukraine can receive citizenship of the Russian Federation by personal decision of Putin without taking into account all or certain requirements of federal legislation. At the same time, the application for such citizenship can be submitted by the heads of Russian organizations, which are arranged under the observation of the child.

At the same time, information about the applicant’s place of residence, his contact details, but only the address and contacts at the place of work of such an applicant that can disappear at any time are indicated in such a questionnaire.

The Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada on Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets, commenting on the decree of Vladimir Putin on the assignment of Russian citizenship to children from Ukraine that the assignment to Ukrainian children of Russian citizenship is a genocide. This is done so that the deported children legally do not remain in the territory of the Russian Federation.