American politicians, Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, are considering submitting the possibility to submit a bill in the US Senate, which, if approval, could mark Russia and Belarus for 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.
In the bill, US senators refer to the media reports and estimates of the Ukrainian government, according to which Russia and Belarus have kidnapped or dragged tens of thousands of Ukrainian children from the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 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 NBC News document states that the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to “Russifying Ukrainian children through kidnapping, deportations or displacing in order to destroy their Ukrainian identity”.
After the proposal approval, Russia will have 60 days
“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 “have been united with their families or guardians in a safe environment and that the process of complete reintegration of these children to the Ukrainian society is undergoing,” says the text. Otherwise, the draft law orders the US Minister to call Russia and Belarus as states supporting terrorism.
The first lady of USA Melania Trump also expressed concerns about the fate of Ukrainian children 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 were kidnapped from the occupied territories,” says the joint statement, which was signed by the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway and Sweden.
