Pavel Latushka: More than 2,100 children were illegally transferred to Belarus from Ukraine, and Lukashenko personally signed the decision to finance their transportation
Source: holosameryky.com
Between September 2022 and May 2023, more than 2,100 Ukrainian children were illegally taken to Belarus from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Pavel Latushka, deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, and former Minister of Culture of Belarus, revealed this information in an interview with the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America.
According to Latushka, the forcible transportation of Ukrainian children to Belarus occurred as early as 2021. Subsequently, dozens of these children were discovered in Russia, where they underwent adoption proceedings and likely remain to this day.
The deportation of children to Belarus was carried out from four occupied regions of Ukraine, with particular impact on the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as at least 20 settlements.
During the conversation, Latushka pointed out that the children are initially taken from Ukraine to Russia, specifically to Rostov-on-Don, before ending up in Belarus. Some children may be returned to Russia, making it challenging to trace their current whereabouts.
Under the leadership of Pavel Latushka, the National Anti-Crisis Management team has repeatedly submitted evidence of the illegal movement of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to Belarus to international organizations. Recently, a new batch of evidence was transferred to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, based in Vienna.
Furthermore, documents containing evidence of the involvement of Belarus' top leadership in the deportation of Ukrainian children were submitted to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Latushka stated that his team provided “documents signed personally by Lukashenko, where he made the decision to finance the transfer of Ukrainian children”, during the transfer of evidence to the ICC in June and November 2023.
In addition to the ICC, documents were submitted that were signed within the framework of the Russia-Belarus Union state. These documents implicated numerous individuals, organizations, and funds, including the Belaruskali company, in orchestrating the transfer of Ukrainian children.
“We believe that there is every reason to issue an arrest warrant for Lukashenko,” Latushka said, citing a wide range of evidence, including statements from Lukashenko himself collected by the National Anti-Crisis Management.
He called for closer cooperation with the Ukrainian side on this issue, emphasizing that his team will continue to investigate and gather evidence. According to the organization's lawyers, the volume of evidence already obtained is substantial enough to issue an international arrest warrant for Lukashenko.
It is worth recalling that in March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova on charges of committing war crimes, particularly the abduction of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories.