MINSK, November 1. /TASS/. Four children separated from their families due to the Ukrainian conflict have returned from Russia to Ukraine, while one such child has returned to Russia, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova told TASS.
"We managed to return four children to Ukrainian soil through this trilateral (Russia, Ukraine and Qatar - TASS) effort and one girl went back to Russia. And another group [of children and their families] is getting ready to be reunited in the near future," the ombudswoman said.
In late September, Lvova-Belova said that a communication channel had been established with Ukrainian authorities for the purpose of coordinating the return of displaced children. She then said that work was underway on the cases of 15 children from each side.
"We realize that these are all family stories. Of course, there was no forcible separation there. This is all about the special military operation, this is combat creating such precedents when the frontline is changing, when grandmothers and grandfathers remain on one side, or parents, one of the parents is on one side, while the other is on the opposite side. We are sorting out each situation individually [on a case-by-case basis]," the children’s rights commissioner said. She added that, "currently, a group of three children who ended up without parental guardianship and care while already on Russian territory is being prepared to be transferred." "But an aunt was found in Ukraine and now the kids will be travelling to join her," Lvova-Belova noted.
She reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin said that, "if there are parents, relatives who are looking for their children, who want to be reunited with them, and there are no restrictions," then it is necessary "to do everything for this to happen." "Basically, this is what we are doing," the ombudswoman stressed.
Roles of Qatar, Belarus
Lvova-Belova pointed out that in the situation involving the reunification of displaced children and their relatives, Qatar is "fulfilling the function of a ‘documenter.’" "Because, unfortunately, the Ukrainian side and Western countries also are doing everything in order to demonize Russia’s image and generate a certain mythology around this story that is so tough for the affected children, which is very important for us to debunk. And, while we are working to bring families together, while [such children] are returning to Ukrainian territory, an entirely different narrative begins to be heard where they (in the West - TASS) start saying that [the children] were held there (in Russia - TASS) by force. <...> In this case, Qatar offers the opportunity to record the fact of the [given child’s] reunification [with his/her family], and of Russia’s active participation and interest [in making this a reality]," she explained.
The ombudswoman also expressed "great gratitude to Belarus" for helping children affected by the conflict. "Because, [during the entire conflict], 10 children have been taken across the Belarusian-Ukrainian border and one child [was taken] across [the border between] Belarus and Poland. And [Belarus] is directly participating in the humanitarian corridor that we are creating. The Belarusian Red Cross Committee <...> is helping on this issue; we are also very grateful to it," she added.