Russia attempts to muddy narrative around its war crimes – British Intel

Russia weaponizes legislation to muddy the narrative around its own "egregious actions" in Ukraine, British intelligence reported on 22 June in its daily update on the Russo-Ukrainian war. On 20 June 2023, Russia’s parliament (Duma) voted to create a parliamentary committee to investigate alleged crimes committed by the Ukrainian government against juveniles in the Donbas region of Ukraine since 2014, British intelligence reported. The Duma is likely responding to the international condemnation of illegal Russia’s deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine since its full-scale invasion, according to British intelligence. The decision to create a parliamentary committee to investigate alleged crimes in Ukraine is highly likely a form of "lawfare" that contributes to Russian information operations, according to British intelligence.

"Messaging around children’s rights is likely an important communications theme for the Kremlin because alleged child deportations formed the basis of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against President Putin issued in March 2023," British intelligence concluded in its daily update on the Russo-Ukrainian war.

According to Ukraine’s national database that tracks Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia, more than 19,000 kids have been abducted by Russian authorities. The number may be even higher as thousands of abducted kids remain unaccounted for.

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Russia may have already deported between 260,000 and 700,000 minors from Ukraine. Although some responsible parties have already faced EU restrictions for the deportation of Ukrainian children, there is a continued need for further measures to be taken to prevent forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia and to ensure the safe and prompt return of those who have already been deported. On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Russia, who allegedly oversaw the abduction and forced deportations of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia. Ukraine takes measures to identify, track down and repatriate abducted kids. Related:

• Ukraine returns 31 kids abducted by Russia
• Putin, Lvova-Belova responsible for deportation of "at least hundreds" of Ukrainian children to Russia - Hague Prosecutor Khan
• Deportation from Ukraine to Russia: war crime of the 21st century
• UN report accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine: Torture, sexual violence, and murder revealed
• "I never cried, I just screamed in pain." Survivors of Russian torture chambers speak
• Russian propaganda & genocidal rhetoric intensify against Ukraine
• This is what genocide looks like: Russian torture chambers in Ukraine