American politicians, Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, are considering the possibility to submit a bill in the US Senate, which could be described in the case of approval by Russia and Belarus as states supporting terrorism in connection with the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Referring to the source, the proposal was informed by the NBC News, writes TASR.
US Senators refer to the Media Reports and estimates of the Ukrainian government in the bill, according to which Russia and Belarus from the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine They kidnapped or dragged tens of thousands of Ukrainian children without the knowledge of their parents or guardians. Kiev describes this as a war crime that, according to the UN agreements, fulfills the definition of genocide.
The document referred to by the NBC News Station says that The regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to “Russify Ukrainian children through kidnapping, deportations or displacing in order to destroy their Ukrainian identity”.
“The Russian puppet state, the Republic of Belarus, directly supported the kidnappings of Ukrainian children and supported their resettlement,” the law said, a copy of which Graham and Blumenthal handed over to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenský in July during a conference in Rome. According to the Senators, there is reliable information that Russia has kidnapped, deported or displaced Ukrainian children aged several months to 17 years.
If the bill is submitted and approved, Russia will have 60 days to prove that missing children were united with their families or guardians In a safe environment and that the process of complete reintegration of these children is taking place to the Ukrainian society, ”says the text.
Concerns about the fate of Ukrainian children also expressed First Lady of USA Melania Trump through a handwritten letter that President Donald Trump handed over to Putin during their Friday meeting in Alaska.
The leaders of eight Nordic and Baltic states also called on the return of Ukrainian children on Saturday. “We ask Russia to immediately return children who are kidnapped from occupied territories,” It is stated in a joint statement, which was signed by the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway and Sweden.
