Russia does not intend to return abducted Ukrainian children – Canadian intelligence
A destroyed house in Donetsk region (Photo:REUTERS/Alex Babenko)
Russia does not intend to return the Ukrainian children it has kidnapped from Ukraine, despite its false claims to do so, Canadian Forces Intelligence Command tweeted on March 22.
Since Feb. 2022, Russia has illegally abducted thousands of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, without the consent of their parents or legal guardians, the message reads.
"Russia demands that parents or legal guardians travel from Ukraine to retrieve their children in person. Russian authorities are aware that doing so is extremely difficult without their assistance, which they do not provide," the report reads.
Russia has established a simplified legal procedure to grant citizenship to children abducted from Ukraine, Canadian intelligence wrote.
"This allows them to be put up for adoption and suggests that Russia does not intend to return them to Ukraine, regardless of conditions on the ground," they said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on Feb. 26 imposing sanctions against Russians involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children.
The European Union adopted the tenth package of sanctions against Russia, which also targets those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Russians have taken more than 13,000 Ukrainian children from occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.
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