File:Russia is attempting to sever any connection children have with Ukraine – President at the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the return of Ukrainian children. (53384519318).jpg

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participated in the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, unlawfully deported and forcibly displaced to the Russian Federation from temporarily occupied territories of our state. Opening the coalition meeting in Kyiv, he expressed gratitude to all indifferent people who joined the International Coalition. "The forced deportation is one of the most cynical crimes of this war. Children are not merely 'taken away' from the occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia deliberately attempts to sever any connection children have with Ukraine, with their relatives, and their loved ones. Children are taught lies about Ukraine and this war. They are placed for illegal adoption, even when they say they have relatives here, in Ukraine, and try to restore contact with their families," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He added that in Russia, efforts are made to erase the national identity of young Ukrainians, which is evidence of Russia's genocidal policy towards Ukraine. "The world knows that this crime committed by Russia against Ukrainian children, against our families, is not something random but an organized effort of the Russian state system – various branches and individuals, from Putin to all those who exercise criminal orders and ruin lives, especially those of children," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The head of the Ukrainian state added that the warrants from the International Criminal Court to arrest President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova are compelling evidence that the deportation of children will not go unpunished. At the same time, Zelenskyy said that time is crucial in the matter of returning Ukrainian children. According to him, it is important for young Ukrainians not to lose their entire childhood in a foreign land, and for the cruelty of Russian state criminals not to break the children and their connection with their country and loved ones. "Russia itself claims hundreds of thousands of deported Ukrainian children whom it stole from Ukraine and is trying to assimilate into its society. As swift as possible and vigorous efforts are needed to bring all these children back," he said. The Head of State reminded that one of the points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula is the return of people from Russian deportation and captivity. "I urge you to enlarge our coalition – to increase the chances of every Ukrainian child to live at home, to live in general, to return not in years but as soon as possible," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.