"Putin will not stop just because we cede territory. For Russia, Ukraine is not merely a territorial issue — it is existential. Putin seeks to destroy our nation, erase our history, and claim our future. That is why he has orchestrated the mass deportation of Ukrainian children to occupied territories and Russia." Dariia Zarivna, advisor in President Zelensky’s office and executive director of Bring Kids Back UA, speaks for Corriere della Sera:
"When I think of this tragedy, of its scale — at least 20,000 abducted children, and only 1,000 returned — of how immense this challenge is, I have only one request: do not leave us alone. We are grateful to the countries supporting us. The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children was launched a year ago and now includes 41 countries, including Italy. Our partners are working hard, yet I sometimes feel despair at how much remains to be done. It is hard to believe that there is no established mechanism in the developed world to address this situation."
"Sibling separation is the first stage of deportation: by physically separating children from anyone they know, they become people without a past. The next stages are indoctrination and, ultimately, militarization. The mass deportation of children that took place in 2022 has halted. Now, Russia is focused on solidifying its occupation, militarizing and indoctrinating children in temporarily occupied territories. A recent Yale report revealed that Moscow used presidential aircraft to transport abducted children from occupied Ukrainian territories, stripping them of their Ukrainian identity and placing them in Russian families as part of a program designed to 'Russify' them. Putin himself is directly responsible for this policy."
"The arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova sent a strong message, marking the beginning of a long and difficult road to justice. Russia downplays the impact, as they do with sanctions, but this is just propaganda. Criminals rarely consider themselves guilty — they always justify their actions. In this case, they frame the deportations as 'humanitarian efforts.' But the arrest warrant is only the first step. To ensure the safe return of the kidnapped Ukrainian children and hold Russia accountable, coordinated international efforts must continue, and pressure must increase. One of our primary demands is to secure humanitarian access for international missions to visit the locations where these children are being held, including temporarily occupied territories. This is essential for identifying the children and ensuring their safe return."
"There can be no peace for Ukraine or for Ukrainians as long as our children remain held by Russia. Peace must include all Ukrainians, including those who were illegally transferred and detained by Russia."
Translated from Corriere della Sera by Alessandra Muglia.