Western representatives leave UN meeting as Russian children’s commissioner speaks 

CNN reported the information.

Western delegates left the UN meeting with the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

Lvova-Belova joined the informal meeting convened by Russia via video link to discuss the "evacuation" of Ukrainian children from the conflict zone.  

"So, it's for that reason today that we have opposed their Arria-Formula briefer, a woman who has been charged with war crimes, who has been involved in deporting and removal of children from their homes to Russia," said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. 

Representatives of the US, Britain, Albania and Malta left the room during the speech of the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya called the move "a clear demonstration of their indifference to the fate of the children of Donbas and Ukrainian children."

"As Russia takes on the presidency of the Security Council, we will use every opportunity to push back on their using their perch in the chair to spread disinformation and to use their chair to push support of their efforts," Thomas-Greenfield added. 

The US Ambassador to the UN added that the United States, like Britain, blocked the broadcast of the meeting, so Lvova-Belova did not get "an international podium to spread disinformation and to try to defend her horrible actions that are taking place in Ukraine." 

• Russia has called an informal meeting of the UN Security Council for April 5, which, according to its version, should focus on "evacuating children from the conflict zone." The United Kingdom blocked the webcast of this meeting, as the Russian Children's Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, was scheduled to speak online. An arrest warrant for her in the case of crimes against Ukrainian children was issued by the International Criminal Court on March 17.

• On March 18, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service, Vasyl Malyuk, said that law enforcement was investigating 16,000 cases of deportation of Ukrainian children. In early March, experts noted that Russia had deported about 730,000 Ukrainian children.

• The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning Russia's human rights violations in Ukraine, including the deportation of children from the temporarily occupied territories.

• Russia continues to abuse the powers and privileges of a permanent member of the UN Security Council to spread disinformation about the large-scale abduction and illegal forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children.