"Russia killed 483 children. They didn't become victims of Russian aggression. No! Russia killed them" – Zelensky
President Zelensky gives a speech at the conference on the occasion of Children's Day. Photo: Office of the President
During the 15 months of full-scale war against Ukraine, the Russian Federation killed at least 483 Ukrainian children and maimed nearly a thousand more.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this at the conference "UA: War. Unsung lullaby" on the occasion of International Children's Day, the president's website reports.
The Ukrainian leader quoted the diary of an 8-year-old boy Yehor from the besieged Mariupol, which begins: "WAR. I slept well, woke up, and smiled."
"We live in times when this is happiness for children: just sleeping is happiness when there are air raid sirens every night," Zelensky said. "When there are rocket attacks every night, waking up in the morning is truly priceless."
Zelenskyi also quoted other memories of the little Mariupol resident:
"I have a wound on my back. The skin is torn off. My sister has a head injury. My mother has a flesh tear on her arm and a wound on her leg…" Yehor also wrote: "My grandmother Halia, two dogs, and my beloved city of Mariupol died…"
The president stressed that Russia violates children's rights and destroys the lives of Ukrainians.
"This has been going on for 15 months. For 15 months, Russian aggression and terror have been destroying not just buildings but fundamental human rights — the fundamental rights of our children. The right to a safe environment, education, the right to development, health care, the right to rest, leisure, and, most importantly, the child's inalienable and, most important, right to life. Russia took away that right from at least 483 Ukrainian children. These are only those destinies that you and I know for sure are destroyed," Zelensky said.
"You should always call things by their names and not by certain official formulations, which, in my personal opinion, somewhat distort the truth, blur the essence and soften the horror of everything that Russia has done and is doing. Russia killed, which is why I will have such wording, Russia killed at least 483 children. Killed. This is not what can be called 'they became victims of Russian aggression' or 'they died as a result of an armed conflict.'
"No! Russia killed these children. Russia crippled nearly a thousand more children. And it cannot be said that 'they were injured as a result of hostilities,'" Zelensky emphasized.
The Ukrainian leader added that the Russian Federation deliberately destroyed the homes of millions of families and children. And no one can say, "They lost their homes due to the corresponding hostilities."
Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
Many Ukrainian cities and villages were wiped "off the face of the earth": entire blocks, streets, and houses, under the rubble of which Russia buried the concept of "children's rights."
The president reminded the audience about rocket strikes on maternity hospitals in Mariupol and Kherson, the destruction of over a thousand kindergartens and about 1,300 schools across Ukraine, and the destruction of children's hospitals. There are over a thousand medical facilities, orphanages, rehabilitation centers, children's libraries, and sports schools.
"Thousands and thousands of children who were abducted, torn from their lives, torn from their families, and illegally deported to the territory of Russia. We do not know the exact number — unfortunately, it is true, for now — how many of our children they took. But we know that we must return all of them. We know that we must restore the rights and safety of all Ukrainian children," the president said.
Zelensky is convinced that restoring and realizing all children's rights "can only be achieved by our just victory," complete de-occupation of all territories, and total security in peaceful towns and villages.
The Ukrainian president is sure it is the free world and the rights of every child that Ukraine has protected for nine years and 462 days, repelling Russian aggression.
"Since February 24, every day has been Children's Protection Day — all 462 days of a full-scale war. Four hundred sixty-two days of our battle for our future, which means for our children. For their will and their destiny. For Ukraine we will leave to them. Europe, which we will build together. A world in which they will live freely. Today, we are fighting for exactly what this world will be like," Zelensky emphasized.
As Rubryka reported, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, took part in opening the Child Rights Protection Center, which will combat Russia's crimes against Ukrainian children.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, 1,462 children have been injured, and 980 minors have received injuries of varying degrees of severity.
