▲ In this file photo, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev delivers remarks at an exhibition marking the 140th anniversary of the South Korea-Russia treaty of amity and commerce held in Seoul on July 8, 2024. (Yonhap)

Russian envoy-Ukraine children

Russia denies alleged transfer of Ukrainian children, claims "humanitarian evacuation"

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- Russia on Tuesday rejected accusations it has deported or forcibly transferred Ukrainian children to Russian territory, describing the allegations as anti-Russian propaganda and insisting that it has taken "humanitarian evacuation measures" aimed at protecting the children.

In a statement sent to Yonhap News Agency, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev said that a recent op-ed jointly contributed by senior diplomats of the European Union (EU), Canada and Ukraine "presents a deeply biased and politically charged interpretation of a highly complex humanitarian issue."

In the op-ed, titled "Every Child Has the Right to Live Safely at Home," published last week, Ugo Astuto, ambassador of the European Union to South Korea; Philippe Lafortune, ambassador of Canada to South Korea; and Andrii Vieshkin, charge d'affaires ad interim of Ukraine to South Korea, called on the international community to join forces to address what they described as Russia's "large-scale and systematic" violations of children's rights, saying that more than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly separated from their families during the conflict.

"While its authors appeal to universal values and humanitarian principles, they avoid discussing essential facts, legal nuances and the actual circumstances under which children had to be evacuated from active combat zones," Zinoviev said, describing the envoys' claims as "simplified political narratives portraying humanitarian evacuation measures as deliberate criminal acts."

He also argued that the figure of 20,000 Ukrainian children allegedly transferred by Russia lacks "any sort of substantial evidence" and said no corresponding name list has been provided, adding that Moscow has "worked continuously to evacuate civilians from dangerous areas, provide shelter and medical assistance, reunite separated families and protect children left without parental care amid ongoing hostilities."

"Children's institutions in Donetsk, Lugansk and other front-line areas were evacuated due to constant shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces and direct threats to minors' lives. Under such circumstances, relocating them away from combat zones was the only correct decision taken in their best interests," Zinoviev said.

According to the ambassador, Russia has received approximately 5.3 million residents from Ukraine and the Donbas region since February 2022, including more than 740,000 children, the overwhelming majority of whom arrived together with parents or close relatives.

Around 380 orphans and children left without parental care were placed under guardianship with Russian families between April and October 2022 in order to provide family-based care instead of institutional accommodation during the emergency period, the Russian ambassador said.

More than 4,800 teenagers and family members from conflict-affected regions have participated in various rehabilitation programs, including counseling, education and medical assistance, organized by Russia since 2022, according to Zinoviev.

"Equally ignored are the practical obstacles complicating reunification efforts. Many parents were unable to travel because of wartime restrictions imposed by the Ukrainian authorities themselves. Men of conscription age often could not leave the country, while many families lacked the financial or logistical ability to retrieve children independently," the ambassador said.

"The reality is far more complex than the black-and-white picture presented in politically motivated anti-Russia narratives. Reducing every evacuation or temporary placement to 'abduction' oversimplifies a complicated humanitarian crisis and ultimately undermines genuine efforts aimed at protecting children," he added.

Russia continues to engage with international organizations on child protection issues, including a meeting in Moscow last month between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Alimov and Virginia Gamba Frezier, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for children and armed conflict, the ambassador said.

He also stressed that Ukraine remains "the only country in the world where the use of a language has been banned on a state level through legislation regulating education, media, publishing, public administration and cultural life. Needless to say that language is Russian," calling the policy "nothing short of a violation of fundamental human rights."

The Russian embassy said detailed information on the issue is available in a bulletin published by the Office of the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights on its official website on May 7, 2026.

The EU, Canada and Ukraine are members of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, launched in February 2024. A total of 49 countries and major international organizations, including the United States and Japan, participate in the initiative. South Korea has not joined the coalition.

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