Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, 1,759 children have become orphans due to hostilities. The head of the National Social Service, Vasyl Lutsyk, reported on Mar.4.
How many children became orphans as a result of the Russian invasion?
For almost two years (the interview was conducted in February — ed.), we have 13,338 children left without parental care. Of them, only 1,759 children are those who became orphans as a result of military operations, said Lutsyk.
Six hundred eighty-five children received the status of "deprived of parental care" because their parents remained in the occupation. Another 12 children are temporarily deprived of parental care because their parents are in captivity.
We assign this status, but we hope that when the parents return, those children will return to the family again, — explained Lutsyk.
Currently, "a significant part" of children are cared for by relatives, the head of the department noted.
The National Social Service of Ukraine is a central executive body established in August 2020 that implements state policy for the social protection of the population and the protection of children's rights.
The stories of Ukrainian children were heard at the UN headquarters
As part of the information campaign "Abducted Voices" of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Bring Kids Back UA action plan for the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian children who were successfully returned after being abducted by the Russians visited the UN headquarters, where they spoke about Russian crimes.
The Permanent Missions of Ukraine, Czechia, Poland, Canada, Latvia, the Netherlands, Estonia and the EU Mission to the United Nations jointly held a closed meeting to discuss the critical issue of the fate of Ukrainian children abducted by the Russian Federation and their return.
The children's testimony was heard firsthand at a meeting with the participation of the Ukrainian MFA chief Dmytro Kuleba, his Canadian colleague Melanie Jolie, and the Dutch MFA chief Hanke Bruins Slot.
Ideas were also voiced regarding measures that would facilitate the speedy return of young Ukrainian citizens from Russian deportation, illegal displacement and forced detention, as well as the restoration of their rights.
Thanks to the joint work of various state institutions and non-governmental organisations, only 388 Ukrainian children have been returned from Russia to date.
During her speech at the closed meeting, Daria Gerasymchuk, the adviser to the President of Ukraine on children's rights and child rehabilitation, noted:
The successfully returned children tell us their stories and allow us to analyse specific scenarios or abduction techniques. The Russian Federation uses a whole arsenal of techniques to abduct Ukrainian children, which indicates a purposeful state policy. And no matter what it was: whether it was abduction simply from the biological family, or removal for so-called recovery, rehabilitation, recreation, or removal of children after the murder of their parents, divorce during filtering, or removal of institutional facilities in their entirety — it is not a coincidence. This is a targeted criminal genocidal policy.
Daria Gerasimchuk
Ukraine's President Commissioner on children's rights and child rehabilitation
The founder of Save Ukraine NGO, Mykola Kuleba, added that Russia's illegal deportation and forced Russification of Ukrainian children is part of the Kremlin's genocidal policy against the Ukrainian people.
