Thirty-one children deported by Russia returning to Ukraine

"Currently, 31 children are on their way to Kyiv. These children will arrive in the capital in 3-4 hours. This is our 5th rescue mission and it is special not only because of the number of children we saved but also because of its complexity. Unfortunately, a grandmother, who was supposed to pick up two children, died during the mission," Myka Kuleba, Executive Director of Save Ukraine charitable fund, Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights (2014-2021), said during a press conference at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform.

Because of this, not 33 children return to Ukraine, as planned, but 31. Kuleba clarified that it would be necessary to return the body of this woman to Ukraine and the children she was supposed to take.

Kuleba pointed to long-term and repeated interrogations by the FSB. "That's why it's not surprising that the grandmother's heart stped," he added.

The executive director of Save Ukraine stated that when parents and legal representatives of those children came to a camp to pick them up, the Russians did not allow them to enter the facility together.

"They [Russians] kept them behind the fence and let the parents one by one into the premises where cameras were installed. They put pressure on the parents making them thank the Russian Federation for saving their children before taking them away," Kuleba said.

The former Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights noted that the Russians should have identified the [deported] children and handed over the relevant lists to the Red Cross so that Ukraine could find their parents.

"All the children they have returned say that no one tried to find their parents in any way. We were looking for these children, and it was very difficult because some children changed five different places of stay in five months – they were thrown from one camp to another. There is a lot of evidence of what happened to these children there," said the executive director of Save Ukraine.

As he noted, there are data on one and a half million Ukrainian children who, after 2014, ended up in the territory of the Russian Federation or captured territories.

"This is almost 20% of the children's pulation – we are talking about Crimea, Donbas, the occupied territories of other regions. And these are children who are hostages, who, unfortunately, cannot return to Ukraine today for various reasons," Kuleba added.

As reported, according to the data of the Ombudsman's Office, 360 children were returned to Ukraine as of April 8.