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Russia Has Forcefully Deported Over 20,000 Ukrainian Children Since Invasion
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russia has forcibly deported at least 20,000 Ukrainian children since the start of its full-scale invasion, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To date, Ukraine has managed to return only about 1,400 of them.
Speaking in Strasbourg, Deputy Foreign Minister Maryana Betsa said the deportations are ongoing and systematic.
“At least 20,000 Ukrainian children were deported by Russia. Another 1.6 million children are currently living under Russian occupation. Every minute, more children are being taken,” she stated. “So far, we have managed to return 1,400 children. But this is just a fraction of the total.”
According to Betsa, the policy of targeting Ukrainian children began in 2014 but became fully systematic after 2022. She noted that during technical negotiations in Istanbul, Ukraine provided Russia with a list of 339 children whose return it is actively seeking. However, Moscow misrepresented this list as the total number of deported children.
“Russia manipulated the figures, claiming there are only 339 cases. This list was simply a first step. We asked to start with returning at least 10, 20, 100 children. But no action was taken,” Betsa said.
She emphasized that the international community must increase pressure on Moscow, as the fate of deported children should not be subject to any peace negotiations.
“The return of children must be unconditional,” she said.
Earlier, a one-year-old boy was killed in a Russian drone strike on the village of Pravdyne in Kherson Region. According to local officials, the child was in the backyard with his great-grandmother when the drone hit. The woman was injured but survived. Authorities reported that the July 8 attack was part of a broader assault on over 40 settlements in Kherson Region, leaving at least 17 wounded and causing widespread damage to civilian infrastructure.
