28 July 2014
MEDIA RELEASE
Ukrainian World Congress condemns using children as pawns in anti-Ukrainian campaign
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) condemns the wave of kidnappings of children by Russia-backed terrorists in the war-torn Eastern region of Ukraine.
According to a report by Ukraine’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, on 26 July 2014 a terrorist group kidnapped orphans requiring constant medical care from an orphanage in Luhansk and attempted to illegally transport them across the border to the Russian Federation without any documentation.
On 27 July 2014, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights informed that the orphans were transported to the Russian side of the border but later returned to Ukraine.
On 28 July 2014, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council reported that 135 chronically-ill children from several orphanages are being held hostage in the Donetsk oblast and are not being allowed to leave the anti-terrorist operation zone.
It is appalling that the Russia-backed terrorists use innocent children as pawns in their campaign and this action serves as yet another example of the callousness of the anti-Ukrainian campaign being waged by Russia against the Ukrainian people.
“The international community must take immediate concrete measures to ensure that children are not used as hostages,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
