Russia illegally holding 4,396 orphans from Ukraine

That's according to Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukrinform reports, citing the website of the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories.

"In this case, the assistance of the world community is very important to us. Currently, a pool of international leaders who have expressed their public support for such a coalition is already being formed. Among them are Ursula von der Leyen, Mateusz Morawiecki and others. There must also be an intermediary. It can be anyone: the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNHCR, UNICEF, etc. I hope that such a platform will start operating soon," Vereshchuk said.

According to her, the Coordination Council for the Protection and Safety of Children, chaired by Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, is working on the formation of an international coalition whose task will be to return Ukrainian orphans and punish those guilty of crimes against Ukrainian children.

Earlier, Vereshchuk said that Ukraine was ready to take orphans deported by Russia from Russia's border with any EU member states.

As reported, on March 17, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Putin and the Russian presidential children's ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of war crimes - illegal deportation and relocation of the population, including children, from occupied Ukraine. All member states of the International Criminal Court are now legally bound to detain and bring Putin to trial.

Photo: AA