The UN criticized Russia's proposal to exchange Ukrainian children for its prisoners of war
Civilians, including children, should not be used as bargaining chips, UN Secretary-General's Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq stressed in a comment to Ukrinform. The official responded to Moscow's offer to exchange abducted Ukrainian children for its prisoners of war, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the day before.
"It is clear that all innocent civilians, including innocent children, should not be used as bargaining chips," Gak said.
He noted that this applies to any conflicts in the world.
The UN has repeatedly emphasized that the deportation of children during conflict is a violation of international humanitarian law.
The day before, President Zelensky reported that the Russians had offered to exchange Ukrainian children for their prisoners of war. The head of state emphasized that the occupiers' offer was incomprehensible and outside the bounds of international law.
- On June 2, Zelenskyy reported that during negotiations in Istanbul, the Russian delegation admitted that the Russian Federation had abducted Ukrainian children.
- On June 5, First Deputy Foreign Minister Kyslytsia reported that the head of the Russian delegation, Medinsky, cynically stated during the negotiations that "there are a couple of dozen, maybe a hundred Ukrainian children" in Russia. At the same time, Putin's ally himself confirmed that he had received a list of 339 abducted children from Ukraine.
- According to the Human Rights Commissioner Lubinets, as of October 2024, the occupiers had abducted more than 20,000 children from Ukraine. Another 1.5 million children may be deported.