Ukraine's First Lady urges global effort to locate 19,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

She said this in an interview with Latin American media.

According to her, the search for 19,000 children who were forcibly removed from Ukraine by Russia is currently underway. Neither the Ukrainian authorities nor international organizations have access to them and do not have information about their data and whereabouts.

Zelenska emphasized the importance of all countries of the world understanding that the rights and protection of Ukrainian children are directly related to the rights and protection of their children. 

"Only the joint efforts of all free countries can counter Russian arbitrariness against defenseless children. It is encouraging that the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children is constantly growing," the First Lady emphasized.

• On February 2, the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andrii Yermak, and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly launched the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which has 28 member countries.