MOSCOW: Russia has brought nearly 700,000 children from the conflict zones in Ukraine into Russian territory, head of the international committee in the Federation Council—Russia’s upper house of parliament— Grigory Karasin said late on Sunday.
Taking to Telegram, he said that in recent years, 700,000 children have found refuge in Russia, fleeing the shelling and bombing from the conflict areas in Ukraine.
Russia started a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.
Moscow says its programme of bringing children from Ukraine into its territory is aimed to protect orphans and kids abandoned in the conflict zone, according to Reuters
However, Ukraine says a number of children have been illegally deported and the US says thousands of kids have been forcibly displaced.
Most of the movement of children and war-hit people occurred in the first few months of the conflict and before Ukraine launched its major counter offensive to retake control of the occupied territories in the east and south in late August.
US estimates of deported children
In July last year, the US estimated that Russia forcibly deported 260,000 children, while the Ministry of Integration of Occupied Territories of Ukraine, says 19,492 Ukrainian children are currently considered illegally deported.
