Russia claims to handover 108 orphaned Ukrainian children to Russian families amid war

In the midst of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, roughly 108 Ukrainian children, who were deprived of parental care, have been handed over to Russian families.  According to a Ukrainska Pravda report, these kids were 'forcibly' taken from Donetsk Oblast by Moscow. According to a Ukrainska Pravda report, these children are aged between 5 and 16. Meanwhile, Maria Lvova-Belova, the Children's Ombudsman for the Russian Federation under the Putin government, announced the children, who had earlier obtained Russian citizenship, have been put with foster families.

Nearly 32 kids were given to Russian families on July 14 in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, the city of Moscow, the oblasts of Moscow, Voronezh, Kaluga, and Tula, citing an example, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Lvova-Belova was involved in transporting 13 children from Donetsk, Shakhtarsk, and Makiivka to Russia. Previously, 19 more youngsters were evacuated to Russia. 

'They are ours now', says Russian official

Notably, before being relocated to six different areas, the children were initially brought to Moscow so they could get to know their "foster parents", Ukrainska Pravda reported.  Lvova-Belova said on the Russian social networking site Vkontakte that by the end of the week, 108 Donbas orphans who have obtained Russian citizenship would have parents.  

In addition to this, the Moscow Department of Labour and Social Protection's head of the Juvenile Custody Department, Elena Zaytseva replied to Lvova-Belova's post by saying, “They are ours now," Ukrainska Pravda reported. 

By order of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, the Russian citizenship of the Ukrainian orphans had already been "fast-tracked." The Putin-signed document gives a variety of individuals the authority to apply for Russian citizenship on behalf of abandoned Ukrainian children from the temporarily controlled territory. 

Earlier, on June 15, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, expressed alarm over the alleged "forced deportation" of orphaned Ukrainian children to Russia. The rights head said in a statement that there have been numerous allegations of orphaned Ukrainian children being removed from Russian-occupied areas and sent to Moscow for adoption. 

Meanwhile, Russia's extensive military assault against Ukraine has resulted in over 1,015 documented child casualties. As per the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office, the official death toll for children in Ukraine as of the morning of July 17, 2022, was 353. Moreover, 662 kids suffered injuries. The areas of Donetsk with 353 casualties, Kharkiv with 191, and Kyiv with 116 were found to have the highest number of afflicted youngsters. 

(Image: AP)