MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. A special memorial was held in Moscow to honor all the children that have been killed in Donbass, Novorossiya and border regions of Russia since 2014, a TASS correspondent reported.

Participants, which included the parents of the dead children, laid flowers and stuffed animals at a memorial that listed the names of the deceased children.

"The Nazis are striking deep into Russia, striking with aim, choosing hospitals, residential houses, churches, places where people congregate en masse, for shelling. As a result, there are dead children in the Kherson, Zaporozhye, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Magadan Regions, in Crimea and Sevastopol. <...> We wanted to recognize all children, so we invited representatives from the regions that are also under fire to join our action," Olga Makeyeva, head of the DPR mission in Moscow, said.

According to her, since 2014, 355 children have been killed in Donbass, Novorossiya and other regions of Russia. "Three hundred and eight were lost in Donbass, 17 in the Belgorod Region, 12 in the Kherson Region, nine in the Zaporozhye Region, four in the Kursk Region, two in the Bryansk Region, one child in the Magadan Region, and two in Crimea and Sevastopol," she listed.

State Duma deputy Anna Kuznetsova pointed out that the youngest of the dead children was a few days old. "Some children died while still in the womb, together with their mother. <...> Just since the beginning of the year, 38 dead, with the total number of children considered victims standing at 30,000," she said.

According to Lugansk People's Republic’s senator Darya Lantratova, 68 children were killed and 228 injured in the region. "No family is forgotten, everyone is provided with the necessary assistance. But we must not forget any of these stories, because behind each of them there is pain, family tragedy, unfulfilled hopes, dreams, unrealized plans," she explained.

On July 11, 2023, DPR head Denis Pushilin signed a decree on the establishment of the Day of Remembrance of Children Victims of War in Donbass. This year, the Kursk, Belgorod, Bryansk Regions, the Republic of Crimea, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions joined the commemorative event.