Number of children deported to Russia ‘impossible to quantify’

"It's not possible" to give a figure for deportations, said Commission President Erik Møse (centre). Keystone-SDA

The International Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says it is "impossible to quantify the total number" of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. On Thursday in Geneva it deplored the fact that Russia had not responded to its requests on this issue.

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“It’s not possible” to give a figure for deportations, Commission President Erik Møse told the press. In their report unveiled on Tuesday, the three investigators, who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, stated for the first time that the deportation, forcible transfer and enforced disappearance of children constituted acts tantamount to crimes against humanity.

They have been able to verify 1,205 cases, but are convinced that several thousand have been transported to Russia since the start of the war. The Ukrainian authorities put the figure at around 20,000 children.

In its report, the Commission implicates “highest level of the Russian government”, including President Vladimir Putin, and entities that answer directly to him for steering the deportations. Putin has been the subject of an arrest warrant since 2023 from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on this issue.

In a wider report also released on Tuesday, the investigators also targeted the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights. She is wanted by the ICC. Several ministries, the Russian Investigative Committee, the Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, regional authorities and authorities in the territories occupied by the Russian army in eastern Ukraine are also implicated, according to the Commission.

The three investigators also denounced violations by Russian troops after hearing 85 soldiers who had deserted, including executions. The Commission said it would “do its best to compile a list of those responsible” for crimes committed during the war in Ukraine, said one of its members, Pablo de Greiff.

“This is another issue on which we will continue to work”, he added, referring to the commanders involved in these violations.

Adapted from French by AI/ts

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