Russia says it is ready to return 5 Ukrainian children, preparing list of Russian children for next round of talks
Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, stated that five children from the list handed over by Ukraine in Istanbul are "already being processed" and will be returned to their families by the end of June.
As reported by Censor.NET citing Ukrainska Pravda, Lvova-Belova made the statement during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"We can confirm that five individuals from this list are already in the process and ready to be returned to Ukrainian territory," she said.
According to her, the children will be reunited with their relatives in Ukraine by the end of June.
In addition, she noted that Russia is preparing its own list of Russian children allegedly located in Ukraine.
The Russian ombudswoman noted that the list is expected to be handed over "at the next round of negotiations."
"We also have children in Ukraine who need to be reunited with their Russian families. At the moment, we have eight children on the list who are in EU countries — they were evacuated there from Ukraine, while their parents are in Russia. And from Ukraine itself, we currently have about 10 individuals with whom we are also negotiating their return," she said.
