MFA warns diplomats against trip organized by Belarus to deported Ukrainian children

The relevant statement was published on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, on October 4, the Belarusian side intends to organize a visit by representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps accredited in Minsk, to the so-called ‘places of residence, education and rehabilitation’ of Ukrainian children in Belarus, who were taken out of the temporarily occupied by Russia cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk,” the statement reads.

The ministry emphasized that this event aims to legalize the unlawful displacement of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. According to international law, the forced deportation of children can be qualified as a war crime.

“In order to avoid responsibility, officials in Belarus try to disguise themselves with international representatives. We call on foreign states whose diplomatic missions in Minsk have received relevant invitations to refrain from participating in the propaganda trip of the Belarusian regime,” the ministry noted.

The Ukrainian side mentioned that, both at the level of the national investigation and as part of the investigation of the International Criminal Court, they will continue working to bring to justice all of those who committed crimes against Ukrainian children.