Four Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine are to be returned to their families as part of a deal brokered by Qatar after months of “secret talks”. 

Every child saved and returned to their family is, of course, a cause for celebration, but let’s not be fooled by Kremlin photo-ops. This is a cynical ploy by Vladimir Putin to present the Russian government as misunderstood; as the sort of people you can negotiate with.

Two weeks ago, Ukraine’s Centre for National Resistance, which supports the Ukrainian underground in the territories occupied by Russia, warned western journalists of upcoming well-financed efforts to whitewash Maria Lvova Belova, Russia’s ghoulishly-titled ‘Children’s Rights Ombudswoman’, who is accused by the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.