Vereshchuk about children abducted from Ukraine: We looking for them all over Russia

Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine said this in a commentary to Ukrinform, commenting on the search for children from the Kherson orphanage abducted by Russia.

"We are looking for children all over Russia. Their surnames, names, and years of birth are changed there, and they are also moved. As soon as the Russians see that we already know where the Ukrainian children are, they immediately move them to other places. At the same time, we thank those who give us information. It is confirmed later, thanks to which we have the opportunity to find our children," she said. 

Vereshchuk stressed that the Russian Federation "directs its genocidal policy precisely at Ukrainian children - at what is most valuable for every nation."

The Deputy Prime Minister also added that with the participation of international organizations, it is necessary to demand from Russia, first of all, the lists of children they have abducted. At the same time, according to her, the international community should apply a specific mechanism to bring the Russian Federation to justice in case of refusal to fulfill international obligations, in particular, on the issue of the return of children.

"There are many more areas where economic sanctions can be imposed. This is the only 'language' that Russia will understand. The international community has all the levers, because Russia's funds are abroad, and the oligarchs' estates are also abroad," she emphasized. 

As reported, on the eve of the Ukrainian counteroffensive on Kherson in October 2022, the Russians took 46 children from a local orphanage. So far, seven children have been returned to Ukraine, and one child has died.