Ukraine launches information campaign to return Ukrainian children taken by Russia
Today, May 5, a national and international initiative was launched in Ukraine in response to the illegal deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Censor.NET reports.
As noted, the campaign is launched by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, the National Police of Ukraine, the initiative of the President of Ukraine "Bring Kids Back UA" in cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
It is reported that since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been deported and/or forcibly displaced. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Russian officials, recognizing these actions as war crimes. To date, more than 1,200 children have returned home.
Special attention is paid to creating a unified DNA database of relatives of missing children. The initiative calls on Ukrainian families to submit official applications to the NPU and provide DNA samples that will help identify children and reunite them with their loved ones.
"We call on relatives, neighbors and concerned citizens to join this national effort. Your voice, memories or your DNA can be the key to saving a forcibly displaced child," said Artur Dobroserdov, Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances.
The campaign has been launched all over Ukraine, with a special focus on the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.
"If you know about the deportation or forced displacement of children, please report it. If you have family ties to abducted children, donate DNA. This may be a chance for them to return home and restore their ethnic ties with their homeland in the future," called on Mariana Reva, Director of the Communications Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
It is noted that the initiative includes activities in social networks, outdoor advertising and partnerships with communities through the regional Specialized Centers of the National Police for Missing Persons in Special Circumstances. Police investigators are the first to come into contact with direct witnesses of war crimes and families of young Ukrainians deported by Russia and missing because of the war, and they have the most experience working with victims.
In turn, the ICRC's Program Director for Europe, Matthew Holliday, noted that this awareness-raising campaign aims to encourage families of missing and deported children to provide data, including DNA samples, to help identify children who find it difficult to do so on their own.
"Collecting data and storing it securely in a centralized database is a key component of finding the large number of missing persons, including missing and deported children," he added.
