Russia, Ukraine working to reunite children with families — ombudswoman

Russian Politics & Diplomacy August 12, 17:48

Maria Lvova-Belova emphasized that it is not easy to solve such issues within one state

ST. PETERSBURG, August 12. /TASS/. Another reunification of Russian and Ukrainian children with their families is in the works, but it is still too early to give any details, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova told TASS.

"In the near future, a girl is returning to Russia to reunite with her family. We are also discussing the next group of children that could reunite with their families. However, it is still too early to talk about figures and dates. Because the situations are complicated, parents cannot decide where their child will live - in Ukraine or Russia," she said.

Lvova-Belova emphasized that it is not easy to solve such issues even within one state, whereas in this case it is much more complicated.

"The welfare of children is the most important thing for us. We are working on that under the president’s instructions and the key task, which he has assigned to us, is to handle the situation from a humanitarian perspective, to do everything possible, so that each child could be raised with their family and not part with them," she concluded.

Earlier, TASS reported that the children’s rights ombudswoman had said a systematic mechanism of processing applications and reuniting families in Russia and Ukraine, as well as in other countries, has been set up. As of late July, as many as 30 children have reunited with their families in Russia and 141 more in Ukraine and other countries since the start of the special military operation.

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