Qatar announces that nine deported children will return to Ukraine from Russia under its auspices - media
Qatar has announced an agreement with Kyiv and Moscow on the return to Ukraine of nine children whom the Russian Federation deported to its territory, the French newspaper Le Monde reports, citing AFP.
"Nine minors and one adult will be reunited with their families in Ukraine," the Qatari official said.
At the same time, he also said that "four minors" will be reunited with their families in the Russian Federation, without specifying where they are now.
The publication says about the "exchange" of children between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
At the same time, Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Dmytro Lubinets said that reports that Qatar allegedly announced an agreement with Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the exchange of children do not correspond to reality, in fact, it is only about the return of illegally deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children from the Russian Federation. And the Ukrainian side neither kidnapped, nor held the Russian children on its territory, nor prevents their return to the Russian Federation if they are on Ukrainian territory.
According to Le Monde, the nine children who will travel to Ukraine, are 12 to 17 years old, and those who meet their families in Russia are two to seven years old. All of them will be welcomed at the Qatari Embassy in Moscow before reuniting with their families.
The publication notes that Qatar has been helping to repatriate Ukrainian children displaced to Russia and to territories under Russian occupation since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022 since July 2023.
According to Ukraine's estimates, 20,000 Ukrainian minors have been deported or forcibly transported to the Russian Federation, although the total number may be much higher, since this figure applies only to officially identified children. According to Kyiv, about 400 of them have been repatriated at the moment.