Russia ‘militarizing’ deported Ukrainian teenagers – Kostin

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andr Kostin said this during the conference "Russia's War Against Children" in Riga, according to the press service of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office.

"In our proceedings, information on 19,546 children who have been deported by Russia under the guise of 'humanitarian' erations is being verified. These children are not just relocated, but deprived of their Ukrainian identity: they are given Russian citizenship, placed in Russian families, forced to undergo re-education in the Russian language, and are forbidden to speak Ukrainian. Teenage boys are often forced to participate in militarization programs," he said.

Kostin noted that such actions are prohibited by international humanitarian law.

He also added that the UN-led Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that "in none of the situations considered by the Commission, the transfer of children did not meet the requirements set forth by international humanitarian law."

"The transfers were not justified by security or medical reasons," Kostin said.

He also called for every portunity to be used to effectively pose these flagrant viations of international law and return the children home.