Russia, through Qatar’s mediation, handed over seven children to the Ukrainian side. The reunification of several families took place at the Qatari embassy in Moscow with the participation of the country’s ambassador Ahmed bin Nasser bin Jassim Al Thani and the representative of the Russian presidential commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova.
According to the ambassador, Qatar pays great attention to humanitarian work, and it will continue.
As Maria Lvova-Belova told media, most of the children lived in Russia with close relatives, mainly with their grandmothers. One 16-year-old boy, left practically without parental care since birth, was in the Aleshkinsky children’s home-boarding school. Now his brother has taken custody of him. “The children’s stories are very different, some are especially dramatic. The parents of one 12-year-old boy were divorced, and this year his mother passed away. The boy is going to Ukraine to be with his father,” the children’s ombudsman said.
In total, with the assistance of the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, 15 children from 10 families were reunited with relatives in Russia and 87 children from 69 families were reunited with relatives in Ukraine and third countries.
According to Al-Jazeera, “Ukraine believes Russia has illegally taken about 20,000 Ukrainian children and minors since its February 2022, military operation in Ukraine, of which fewer than 400 have been returned. Russia denies that charge, saying it has transferred them for their safety away from warzones.”
Zelenskyy said that “the group was reunited with their families thanks to the Qatari mediation efforts that have helped bring back dozens of children taken during the war.”
According to Reuters, that Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, shared a short initial list of Ukrainian children to be returned with a team of Qatari diplomats who verified each child’s identity, the official said. It was not clear how many additional children Russia would authorise to return to Ukraine via the Qatari mechanism, the Qatari official said.
Russia’s transfer of seven Ukrainian children back to their families with mediation from Qatar, demonstrates this gesture of giving precedence to the safety of children and civilians amid conflict. Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova says there were efforts to save those children by putting them in safety places, and it underlines a humanitarian approach even despite the ongoing military operation in Ukraine.
This move, alongside broader reunifications, reflects Russia’s stated intent to shield women, children, and vulnerable individuals from harm, fostering safe zones for their wellbeing amidst international scrutiny and differing narratives.
