World noticed deportation of Ukrainian children only when number of deported reached 700,000 - human rights activist Denisova

Human rights activist Lyudmyla Denisova shared her opinions with Espreso TV.

According to her, Russian leader Vladimir Putin approved the forced deportation of Ukrainians by decree back in 2019. Meanwhile, active deportations began at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

"It didn't start today. We all remember that as early as February 18, 2022, our children who were placed in boarding schools were already being moved. Even then, it had signs of genocide. Then many different negotiations were held - there was a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on May 12, 2022, which states that the Russian Federation should allow international human rights organizations to see if there are such forcibly removed children," she said. 

After that, Denisova noted, there were events such as Russia's organization of filtration camps, separation of children from their parents, murder of parents and further deportation of minors. 

"This has been going on for a year. But for some reason, the international community paid attention to this only after more than 700,000 of our children were taken, according to Russian data," the human rights activist said.

• On April 27, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on the forced deportation of Ukrainian children and adults to Russia, recognizing such actions as genocide. After the document is approved, the PACE will appeal to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the crime of genocide.