US demands that Russia return abducted children to Ukraine before signing peace

A bipartisan resolution has been submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives demanding the return of abducted Ukrainian children as a precondition for any peace agreement. This was reported to by the initiators of the document, Republican Congressman Michael McCaul and Democratic member of the House of Representatives Gregory Meeks.

"Since the beginning of Putin's war of aggression, Russia has abducted at least 19,500 Ukrainian children from their homeland – some estimates put the true number as high as 200,000... As a parent, I cannot imagine the pain their families have endured," McCaul said.

According to him, the mass abduction of children by Russia is nothing short of evil and the United States must demonstrate moral leadership by demanding that every child be returned to their family in Ukraine before true peace can be achieved.

"Putin is a war criminal, and under his leadership, the Russian military has brutally abducted and illegally deported tens of thousands of Ukrainian children from their homeland. These atrocities are not isolated incidents, they are the direct result of the war Putin has chosen," Meeks said .

He emphasized that the United States is obliged to condemn these "unconscionable actions" of Russia and demand the return of each and every one of the children. The resolution also states that such actions are aimed at destroying the Ukrainian identity, contradict international humanitarian law and can be classified as genocide .

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak noted, that this is an important step in support of justice and peace. Recently, a similar resolution was also submitted to the US Senate by Senators Chuck Grassley and Amy Klobuchar.

"I thank the authors and everyone who supports this document. A just peace is impossible without the return of Ukrainian children," Yermak said .

• june 2 In Istanbul, Ukraine handed over to Russia a list of hundreds of Ukrainian children, who need to be returned, Yermak said. Moscow accused Kyiv of "putting on a show for compassionate Europeans.".
• On June 16, President Zelenskiy said that Russians had offered to exchange Ukrainian children for prisoners of war. He called the proposal "madness.".