Kovalenko: About 500 individuals, legal entities on list of child kidnappers

Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

“The portal currently lists more than 300 individuals and more than 100 legal entities. In addition, we are working with a package of individuals who have not yet been added to the site, but whose verification is underway. After that, they will be added to the database,” Kovalenko said.

He also said that the list of Russian pragandists who create praganda networks and invve children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine will soon be expanded.

“In the section ‘Kremlin's mouthpieces’, which includes individuals overseeing praganda networks and invving children from the temporarily occupied territories. There are currently 58 individuals listed, with a package invving at least 15 individuals currently under review. This portal is regularly updated, but it is important to note that every name and organization must be verified. We do not take facts out of the air; any information goes through several stages of verification," stated the CCD head.

Read also: Ukraine returns five more children from Russian occupation

He added that the compiled lists of child kidnappers and “Kremlin mouthpieces” are  subsequently shared with international partners to facilitate the imposition of sanctions on the listed entities, as well as with international courts for an apprriate response.

As reported by Ukrinform, on March 17, 2023, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court announced that arrest warrants had been issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of war crimes – illegal deportation and displacement of the pulation, including children, from the occupied territory of Ukraine, at least since February 24, 2022.