KIEV: A top Ukrainian official has announced that as many as 5100 children have been deported to Russia since Moscow launched its ongoing war against Kiev on February 24.
Daria Herasymchuk, the presidential adviser for child rights and rehabilitation of children, said in a televised address to the nation on Friday: "Requests continue to be submitted every day, and therefore I urge everyone to report cases of child abduction to the National Information Bureau. "This will allow us to begin searching for a specific child." Ukraine, according to Herasymchuk, passes the collected data to the Red Cross and other international organisations that assist in the location of the children, according to Ukrayinska Pravda.
She also said that abducted children are not always orphans, but are sometimes taken away with their parents or relatives, or are forcibly separated from them.
"A total of 46 children have been returned to Ukraine; each time is a separate special operation; there is no single algorithm, and there most likely will not be," Herasymchuk said.
According to the presidential adviser, 353 children have dead and 679 others have been injured since the war began. "It is impossible to say how many people were killed." The Russians refuse to allow anyone inside the occupied territory, not even to bury children." She also stated that on August 1, a platform named "Children of War" will be opened, providing information and statistics about all Ukrainian children affected by the war, with data collected and updated daily.
"This portal will become the primary source of information for those seeking to assist such youngsters, journalists, and law enforcement organisations," Herasymchuk stated.
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