Over 1,000 abducted Ukrainian children returned in 2024
- 3 January, 15:22
Ukraine last year secured the return of 1,042 children abducted from its Russian-held territories, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Labinets, revealed on January 3.
Posting in Facebook, Lubinets said that numerous state bodies and public organizations were involved in helping with the restoration of documents and providing necessary assistance for returning the abducted children.
“A happy reunion also took place between a mother, a prisoner of war Natalia, and her son Dmytro. They had not seen each other for more than two years. First, we brought the child back from [Temporarily Occupied Territories], and in May, just days after his birthday, the boy embraced his mother.”
Ukraine accuses Russia of kidnapping tens of thousands of Ukrainian children since the start of the full-fledged invasion of the country in February 2022. The international criminal court, ICC, in Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in 2023 for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children during the war. The arrest warrant restricted Putin’s travel to 123 countries. Last year, Ombudsman Lubinets said the arrest warrant issued against Putin facilitated the process to return deported children.
In addition to securing the return of children, Ukraine in 2024 also returned 3,956 soldiers from Russian captivity. In the latest prisoner exchange with Russia on December 30, Ukraine brought home 189 soldiers, including two civlians.
