MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. Children from Ukraine ended up on the Russian territory because they were rescued from shelling and evacuated from the war zone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova.
The ombudswoman told about the work of reuniting children with their relatives during the special military operation. After listening to her, Putin said: "[Ukrainian] children ended up on Russian territory because we saved them from shelling, from the war zone."
In this context, the president asked whether Russian children were being returned to the country. "Are our children coming back from abroad?" he asked. "Yes, six children [were returned]," Lvova-Belova confirmed. At the same time, she pointed out that "Ukraine is not talking about it." "Because then it will be immediately clear that this has nothing to do with our aggression and seizure of children, but simply with military actions and family situations," the human right commissioner explained.
Putin also agreed with Lvova-Belova that the children, whose childhood was spent under shelling, have suffered severe psychological trauma. "If they have been sitting in basements since 2014, as you said, then of course this trauma is serious," the president said.
The children's ombudswoman told the head of state that she was working to help children from Russia's new regions. "The main task is psychological accompaniment and support for such children, because we understand that those who have been sitting in bomb shelters regularly since 2014 have post-traumatic syndrome from shelling. Children come with bread because they are afraid there will be no food, they hide water bottles under the bed because they are afraid there will be no water, and they charge their phones all the time," Lvova-Belova said. She pointed out that local specialists are being trained to work with such children and a psychological program is being developed.