On Wednesday 5 April, 49 UN member states (including the 27 EU member states) and the EU “unequivocally” condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine, including in particular the forced deportation of Ukrainian children (see EUROPE 13148/2).
In a joint statement, they denounced Russia’s organisation of a meeting on Russia’s forced deportation of children in Ukraine, saying it would “further abuse the powers and privileges of a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council to spread disinformation about its widespread abduction and unlawful forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children”.
These States and the EU recalled that, according to numerous credible sources, the Russian authorities have interrogated, detained and forcibly deported over 19,500 Ukrainian children from their homes in Ukraine to Russia.
“The Russian Federation will seek to present its actions in Ukraine as in line with international law, children’s rights, and the Children and Armed Conflict agenda. This could not be further from the truth”, they warned.
According to these States and the EU, “no amount of disinformation spread by the Russian Federation can deny the truth nor shield individuals from accountability for these crimes”.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/693 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)