The Russian Federation has stepped up deportations and abductions in the occupied territories

Ukraine's permanent representative to the UN, Serhiy Kyslytsya, said this on Monday at the UN Security Council meeting, which considered the humanitarian consequences of the Russian war, Ukrinform reported.

We note with concern that Russia has stepped up the practice of deportation and abduction of people in the occupied territories under the guise of so-called 'evacuation'," he said. - Like many of you in the Security Council, we reiterate that only Russian troops should be 'evacuated' from Ukrainian territory. Once this happens, the atrocities of war will end.

Kyslytsya said that Russia violates basic principles of protecting children during military operations. Russia's aggression killed 480 children and injured 967. Additionally, the Prosecutor-General's Office of Ukraine checked 13 cases of sexual abuse against children in several regions, including Donetsk, Kiev, Kherson, Mykolayiv and Chernihiv. Kyslytsya said that the real figures were higher than the reported figures and law-enforcement agencies were continuing investigations.

Furthermore, Kyslytsya said that 3,185 educational institutions had been damaged by the Russian attacks, of which 330 had been completely destroyed. According to UNICEF, the education of more than 5.7 million children was interrupted and 1.5 million children faced mental health problems.

The forcible deportation of children is nothing but a well-planned policy of the Kremlin aimed at aggressive indoctrination, changing ethnic identity and depriving Ukraine of its future generation," said the post-holder.

According to the latest data, Ukraine has identified 19,393 children who were deported or abducted in the occupied territories. Of these, almost 4,390 children are orphans or deprived of parental care. Unfortunately, only 364 children have been returned so far, Kyslytsya said. He called on the UN Secretary-General and the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict to include an appropriate assessment of the severity of violations against children in Ukraine by the Russian authorities in the upcoming annual report.