Ukraine urges Russians not to adopt ‘stolen’ kids

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russians on Tuesday not to adopt children who she said were “stolen” in Ukraine and deported to Russia. Russia has been waging war on its neighbor for 13 months now. The real number of children forcefully brought to Russia is impossible to establish. Vereshchuk, in charge of social issues, said: “I remind all Russian so-called ‘adoptive parents’ and ‘guardians’: sooner or later you will have to answer.” Ukraine’s Ministry of Integration of Occupied Territories said 19,514 Ukrainian children are considered illegally deported. The International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.