Ukrainian children repatriated from Russia through Qatari mediation

Qatar has announced that its mediators have succeeded in securing Russian agreement for the return of four Ukrainian children to their families in what is hoped to be the first phase of repatriations for more children.

Qatar has announced that its mediators have succeeded in securing Russian agreement for the return of four Ukrainian children to their families in what is hoped to be the first phase of repatriations for more children.

The children, who range in age from two to 17, have been received at the Qatari mission in Moscow which “facilitated the hosting of the children and their families…and accompanied them to their destination”, according to a statement by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This first repatriation of Ukrainian children is part of a longer-term mechanism Qatar negotiated with both sides after months of secret talks, according to a Qatari official who spoke to Reuters.

Ukraine says up to 20,000 children have been taken by Russia into the country or territory that it holds. In May 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree making it easier for Russians to adopt Ukrainian children who were “without parental care”.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, stating that it had “grounds to believe [they bear] responsibility for the war crime of … unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.”