The United Nations condemned Russia’s proposal to exchange abducted Ukrainian children for Russian prisoners of war, with a senior UN official stating that civilians should not be used as bargaining chips.
“Obviously, all innocent civilians, including innocent children, should not be used as bargaining chips,” Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq told Ukrinform when commenting on the Russian proposal revealed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Haq emphasized that this principle applies to conflicts worldwide. The UN has repeatedly stressed that deportation of children during conflict constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.
President Zelenskyy disclosed that Russians had proposed exchanging Ukrainian children for their military prisoners. The Ukrainian leader characterized the occupiers’ proposal as “beyond understanding and beyond the bounds of international law.”
The issue gained prominence during negotiations in Istanbul, where the Russian delegation acknowledged that Russia had abducted Ukrainian children, according to Zelenskyy’s 2 June statement.
First Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Kislytsia provided details of the negotiations on 5 June, reporting that Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky cynically stated during talks that Russia “has a couple of dozen, maybe a hundred Ukrainian children.” The same Putin associate confirmed receiving from Ukraine a list of 339 abducted children, Kislytsia said.
Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reports that as of October 2024, Russian forces have abducted more than 20,000 children from Ukraine. An additional 1.5 million children could potentially be deported, according to his data.
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