“At most, it’s a matter of hundreds” – Russia may have just admitted to abducting Ukrainian children

Nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been confirmed abducted, but the number could be significantly higher.

What is happening?

Russia may have finally admitted to abducting Ukrainian children from Russian occupied territories in Ukraine.

The list

During the peacetalks in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, the Ukrainian delegation submitted a list of 400 names og abducted children, urging for their return.

According the President Zelenskyy, the Russian delgation proposed working on the return of about 10 of the children.

“A matter of hundreds”

According to United24 Media, the Ukrainian delegation told the Russians, that they had taken 20,000 (children), to which the Russian delegation reportedly responded:

“At most, it’s a matter of hundreds.”

Significant admission

President Zelenskyy emphasized that the Russian response is a rare admission of abducting Ukrainian children.

Mockingly dismissed

According to United24 Media, the lead negotiatoer of the Russian side, Vladimir Medinsky, has dismissed the plea for a return of Ukrainian children as a “Show for Bleeding-Heart Old Ladies”.

Nearly 20,000 children confirmed

According to Yale School of Medicine, more than 19,000 children from Ukraine have been deported to Russia, emphazising that the number is likely signifcantly higher.

On several occasions, the children are being forcibly removed from their families and being adopted by Russian families.

Others are put in indoctrination camps, that include military training.

Arrest warrant on Putin

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvovoa-Belova, alleging criminal responsibility for the abductions.