Summary
Ukraine condemns President Putin’s decree allowing Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children, labeling it a violation of rights. Russia claims it aims to protect the children, while Ukraine sees it as forced assimilation.
Ukraine has strongly criticized a decree signed by President Putin enabling the conferment of Russian citizenship on Ukrainian children relocated to Russia. The Ukrainian foreign ministry deems the decree illegal and links it to Russia’s forced child deportations, for which an arrest warrant was issued for President Putin by the International Criminal Court in March.
Russia contends that the move is to safeguard the children from harm. Putin signed the citizenship decree on January 4, expediting the process for foreigners and stateless individuals. The Ukrainian foreign ministry specifically objects to the provision allowing orphaned or parentless Ukrainian children to swiftly obtain Russian citizenship, viewing it as a violation of Ukrainian and international laws.
The ministry accuses Russia of attempting to address its demographic crisis through this measure, describing it as evidence of forced assimilation of Ukrainian children. Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights suggests Moscow is granting citizenship to prevent the children from being considered Ukrainians transferred to Russia.
Over 19,000 Ukrainian children have been identified by Ukrainian authorities as deported to Russia since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Only 387 have been repatriated. In a troubling revelation, a political ally of Putin was reported to have adopted a child taken from a Ukrainian children’s home in 2022, further fueling concerns about the treatment of Ukrainian children.
The International Criminal Court had previously issued an arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes, including the unlawful deportation of children. The ICC emphasized that children should not be treated as “spoils of war,” raising the possibility of Putin standing trial.