“Deporting children is a war crime,” Von der Leyen tweeted.

“In partnership with the Ukrainians, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and I have launched an initiative aimed at repatriating Ukrainian children abducted by Russia,” she went on.

Read also: Russia treats children like “spoils of war,” ICC says

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova, for their involvement in the unlawful removal of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation since Feb. 24, 2022.

The Russians have taken more than 13,000 Ukrainian children from occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said.

Read also: Russia does not intend to return abducted Ukrainian children – Canadian intelligence

According to official data, Ukraine has only managed to repatriate 100 Ukrainian children from Russia.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine