Ukraine launches investigation into Belarus’ role in child deportations

Ukraine is investigating the involvement of the Republic of Belarus in the forced removal of children from territories occupied by the Russian Federation.

Reuters reported this with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

What is the problem?

The Ukrainian side officially confirms that Russia has abducted more than 19,000 children from the temporarily occupied territories.

All data pertaining to Ukraine is available on the official government information platform "Children of War."

Ukraine's statement on the deportation of children was a response to a report by the opposition in Belarus that 2,150 minors, including orphans aged 6 to 15, were taken to so-called health camps and sanatoriums.

Children were taken from the following areas:

• Donetsk region;
• Luhansk region;
• Zaporizhzhia region;
• Kherson region;
• Kharkiv region.

As emphasized, transferring children to another country was illegal and violated the Geneva Conventions and the International Criminal Court Statute.

What is the solution?

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said criminal proceedings were initiated in Ukraine over the "forced transportation/deportation of more than 19,000 children" from the areas of occupation to Belarus, amongst other locations.

How does it work?

"The fact and circumstances of the removal of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the so-called "health camps" on the territory of Belarus are currently being investigated in the specified criminal proceedings," the Prosecutor General's Office emphasized.

The Prosecutor General's Office adds that the children could be placed in two Belarusian sanatoriums.

In particular:

• "Golden Sands" in the Gomel region;
• sanatorium-resort camp "Ostroshytsky Horodok" in Minsk region.

From the territories of Ukraine controlled by the Russian Federation, the children were brought to Russia by bus and then taken to Belarus by train.

"Lukashenko personally ordered the transfer of orphaned children to Belarus and facilitated their arrival with financial and organizational support," the Prosecutor General's Office added.

It should be noted that the cases of illegal deportation of 164 Ukrainian children aged 4-18 years from the Russian Federation were recognized by the UN Independent International Commission for the Investigation of Violations in Ukraine.

For reference:

The National Resistance Center of Ukraine created a Map of Camps showing where abducted children are being relocated and the various destinations they are being taken to. The Center stated that in reality, children are being taken from both frontline regions and regions far from the hostilities. Meanwhile, Russian propaganda claims that abduction and relocation of children as a part of an evacuation of children, which is not the case. They noted that the camps include orphans, who have become orphans as a result of their parents' murder by the Russians.

Additionally, children from boarding schools and orphanages, even those with families in Ukraine, are being forcibly deported. Furthermore, children of parents who didn't pass the Russian forces' screening or 'filtration' end up in Russian torture camps.

In the camps, children are indoctrinated with Russians history and propaganda. 45 children's camps and 12 military camps have been identified on the map. Additionally, teens from occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions were reportedly taken to Chechnya for indoctrination.