Russia offered to exchange kidnapped Ukrainian children for prisoners of war, - Zelenska
During the negotiations, the Russian side proposed including the abducted Ukrainian children on the list of prisoners of war to be exchanged.
According to Censor.NET, First Lady Olena Zelenska made this statement in an interview with the British newspaper The Sun, reports the press service of the Office of the President.
According to Zelenska, at one stage of the negotiations, the Ukrainian delegation proposed that Russia return 300 children based on a verified list.
"Instead, Russian officials cynically proposed adding them to the list of prisoners of war to be exchanged. So, our children are indeed considered prisoners. Trophies. Bargaining chips. But Ukraine will fight for every child," she emphasized.
Zelenska: Peace Is Impossible Without the Return of the Children
The First Lady emphasized that peace is impossible without the return of all Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. According to official figures, there are at least 20,000 such children.
She also noted that Russia has established a system of indoctrination not only within its own borders but also in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
"To turn children into victims of its propaganda, Russia no longer even needs to take them deep into its own territory: the indoctrination system is already in place in the temporarily occupied territories—in schools, kindergartens, and re-education camps," said Zelenska.
"We must not lose a generation"
According to the First Lady, Ukrainian children are grieving the loss of loved ones and witnessing the consequences of the war, so the government must support them now.
"We must not allow these children to define themselves forever as 'children of war'... We must address this now so as not to lose a generation," Zelenska said.
