17 Ukrainian children have returned to their homeland after almost a year in Russian captivity. One of those released is 15-year-old Vitaly, who told reporters about his life after being kidnapped: children were beaten with “some kind of metal bar”. He was also tried to convince that his parents rejected him.
The minors, now reunited with their Ukrainian families, come from the formerly occupied regions of Kherson and Kharkiv. The government of the country attacked by Moscow suspects that up to 16,000 children were abducted by Russia during the occupation.
Children beaten with metal bar
Back in his native country, Vitali (15) described last year what his daily life was like in a camp in Crimea. There was abuse and lies. Children were beaten: “Yes, those who were for Ukraine. Almost everyone from Kherson was pro-Ukraine,” says the boy. “How did they hit her?” asked a reporter. “With some kind of metal rod,” explains Vitali “They hit a girl on the back. She had a huge wound.”
Children were told they had been cast out
When two children shouted patriotic slogans such as “Honor to Ukraine”, they were taken away. “I don’t know what happened to them.” He describes how they tried to alienate him from his parents by telling him they were no longer interested in him. “They said they rejected us and wouldn’t pick us up,” said Vitaly. Instead, he was threatened that he would be taken to the Russian city of Pskov, where he would be adopted. “They said no one would take us back. We are now children of Russia.”
Putin would be “personally responsible” for kidnappings
Thousands of other Ukrainian children remain in Russian captivity. The systematic deportation of minors is a matter for the International Criminal Court in The Hague. An arrest warrant was issued there for Russian President Vladimir Putin — there are “reasonable reasons” to believe that Putin is “personally responsible” for the kidnapping of children on Russian territory, which is classified as a war crime, it said in a statement .
Source: Krone
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