Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo before a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on November 23.
Konstantin Zavrazhin/Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP, file
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Konstantin Zavrazhin/Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP, file
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo before a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on November 23.
Konstantin Zavrazhin/Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP, file
TALLINN, Estonia — Belarus's authoritarian president on Thursday attended a government-organized meeting with children brought from Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, publicly defying international outrage over his country's involvement in Moscow's deportation of Ukrainian children.
Speaking at the event marking the arrival of a new group of Ukrainian children before the New Year holidays, President Alexander Lukashenko pledged to “hug these children, bring them into our home, keep them warm and make their childhood happier.”
Belarusian officials did not say how many Ukrainian children were brought into the country.
A recent Yale University study found that more than 2,400 Ukrainian children between the ages of 6 and 17 were brought to Belarus from four Ukrainian regions that were partially occupied by Russian forces. The Belarusian opposition has urged the International Criminal Court to hold Lukashenko and his officials accountable for their involvement in the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children.
Pavel Latushka, the former Belarusian culture minister turned opposition activist who has provided the ICC with evidence of Lukashenko's alleged involvement in the illegal deportation of children, said the arrival of a new group from Russian-occupied territories “confirms the need for the ICC to investigate the matter.” . Investigate these crimes.”
“Lukashenko, his family members and associates organized with the Kremlin a system to transfer Ukrainian children, including orphans, from the occupied territories to Belarus, and this channel is still working,” Latushka told the Associated Press.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova Belova, charging them with the war crimes of illegal deportation of children and illegal transfer of children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. Moscow rejected these accusations.
Dmytro Lobinets, a human rights investigator in Ukraine, said in televised statements on Thursday that transporting thousands of Ukrainian children to Belarus helped Moscow cover up information related to the illegal deportation of children.
Earlier this month, the International Red Cross suspended the organization's Belarus branch after its president, Dmitry Shatso, sparked international outrage by boasting that he was transporting Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled areas to Belarus.
Chautsu described the move as “completely politicized”, claiming that Ukrainian children who visited Belarus to “improve their health” returned home safely.
Belarus has been Moscow's closest ally since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when Lukashenko allowed the Kremlin to use his country's territory to invade Ukraine. Russia has also deployed some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
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