Russia has denied allegations that it kidnapped 20,000 Ukrainian children, with officials insisting the claims are unfounded and politically motivated.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, stated that the children were evacuated from conflict areas to secure locations and that steps had been taken to reunite them with their families.
“As we can see, there are no 20,000 kidnapped children in reality,” she said. “Ukraine has not only failed but has not even tried to prove this data with documents.”
According to Zakharova, Ukrainian authorities have not provided any specific evidence, such as lists of the children or statements from parents or legal guardians searching for them.
She accused the Ukrainian government of inventing the figures and failing to take action over the years to validate the claims.
“Why has nothing been done by the Kyiv regime over these years? Because it was all lies,” she added.
Zakharova described Russia’s actions as efforts to “rescue children by taking them out of the shelling zones to safe places,” calling the operation “really successful.”
(NAN)