Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that 16 Ukrainian children who had been “forcibly transferred to Russia” had been able to “reunite with their families”, with Russia previously announcing an exchange between Moscow and Kiev that suggested a larger number of minors, reports AFP according to Agerpres.
“A group of 16 Ukrainian children and their relatives are currently in Qatar for medical, mental and social care. All of them were forcibly transferred to Russia, but thanks to the mediation efforts of Qatar, a friendly country, they were released and were able to find their families,” said the Ukrainian president.
Previously, Russia announced an agreement with Ukraine for the exchange of 48 children displaced by the war, at the end of a first meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials on this subject that took place in Qatar, a country that mediates between Kiev and Moscow in this delicate file.
In March, four other Ukrainian children were repatriated from Russia, also with the mediation of Qatar, after a similar operation carried out the previous month and involving 11 children.
Ukraine estimates at least 20,000 minors from occupied Ukrainian areas deported to Russia, but their total number could be much higher, as this figure only includes officially identified children.
Fewer than 400 of these children have so far been repatriated to Ukraine, according to Kyiv.
