Russia’s war against Ukraine has killed 509 children and injured 1139, Ukraine’s Prosecutor’s General Office has informed.
The highest number of casualties have been reported in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Kherson oblasts, prosecutors say.
In addition, Ukraine has returned only 386 children out of 19,546 who were forcibly deported by Russian troops. Ukraine’s Prosecutor’s General Office has also added that 13 Ukrainian children have suffered from sexual abuse during combat actions.
Earlier, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants of arrest for the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President, Maria Lvova-Belova.
The ICC found them guilty of committing war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
In August 2023, the Center of National Resistance of Ukraine said Russia sent Ukrainian children from occupied territories to military camps to “re-educate” and encourage them to join the armed forces.
On 1 August, the Gvardeets military-patriotic camp opened in the Russian town of Penza. According to the Center, the invaders took teenagers from six occupied cities and villages – Mariupol, Kirovske, Yenakiieve, Horlivka, Shakhtarsk, Makiiivka, and Donetsk to the camp to provide basic military training to them.
The propaganda program included visits to nearby museums, performances by pro-Kremlin artists, and activities to prepare children mentally and physically to defend Russia.
Watch the “Abducted Childhood” movie which sheds light on Russian crimes against Ukrainian children that may be qualified as “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” by the International Criminal Court here.