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Cross posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29980710

Russia initiated the large-scale deportation of Ukrainian children on February 18, 2022, just six days before launching its full-scale invasion, according to Andrii Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

By the morning of February 19, 2022, more than 2,700 children, primarily from orphanages and boarding schools, had been illegally taken to Russia. The occupation authorities falsified their names, dates, and places of birth and issued them Russian passports. Some of the children were later placed in foster care.

“Russia began kidnapping our children even before the full-scale invasion, which proves that this was a planned crime with the aim of erasing the Ukrainian identity of the children and forcibly assimilating them,” Yermak said.

He added that Russia has attempted to portray the abductions as evacuations due to security risks.

Ukraine has managed to return 1,221 children, but thousands remain in Russia. “We continue to fight for the return of every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia. No exceptions. No conditions,” Yermak stated.

According to the National Information Bureau of Ukraine, as of February 2025, 19,546 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly relocated to Russia.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of forcibly transferring Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia.

On February 6, Daria Zarivna, Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office and Operational Director of Bring Kids Back UA, announced the return of eight Ukrainian children unlawfully taken to temporarily occupied Crimea..

Cross posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29980710

Russia initiated the large-scale deportation of Ukrainian children on February 18, 2022, just six days before launching its full-scale invasion, according to Andrii Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

By the morning of February 19, 2022, more than 2,700 children, primarily from orphanages and boarding schools, had been illegally taken to Russia. The occupation authorities falsified their names, dates, and places of birth and issued them Russian passports. Some of the children were later placed in foster care.

“Russia began kidnapping our children even before the full-scale invasion, which proves that this was a planned crime with the aim of erasing the Ukrainian identity of the children and forcibly assimilating them,” Yermak said.

He added that Russia has attempted to portray the abductions as evacuations due to security risks.

Ukraine has managed to return 1,221 children, but thousands remain in Russia. “We continue to fight for the return of every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia. No exceptions. No conditions,” Yermak stated.

According to the National Information Bureau of Ukraine, as of February 2025, 19,546 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly relocated to Russia.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of forcibly transferring Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia.

On February 6, Daria Zarivna, Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office and Operational Director of Bring Kids Back UA, announced the return of eight Ukrainian children unlawfully taken to temporarily occupied Crimea..

Russia initiated the large-scale deportation of Ukrainian children on February 18, 2022, just six days before launching its full-scale invasion, according to Andrii Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

By the morning of February 19, 2022, more than 2,700 children, primarily from orphanages and boarding schools, had been illegally taken to Russia. The occupation authorities falsified their names, dates, and places of birth and issued them Russian passports. Some of the children were later placed in foster care.

“Russia began kidnapping our children even before the full-scale invasion, which proves that this was a planned crime with the aim of erasing the Ukrainian identity of the children and forcibly assimilating them,” Yermak said.

He added that Russia has attempted to portray the abductions as evacuations due to security risks.

Ukraine has managed to return 1,221 children, but thousands remain in Russia. “We continue to fight for the return of every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia. No exceptions. No conditions,” Yermak stated.

According to the National Information Bureau of Ukraine, as of February 2025, 19,546 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly relocated to Russia.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of forcibly transferring Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia.

On February 6, Daria Zarivna, Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office and Operational Director of Bring Kids Back UA, announced the return of eight Ukrainian children unlawfully taken to temporarily occupied Crimea..

Cross posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29979354

In the nearly three years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s people have endured continuous attacks, “psychological terror…displacement and hardship”, top UN aid coordinator Matthias Schmale said on Friday.

Briefing from Ukrainian capital Kyiv after another night of “air sirens and more loud explosions”, Mr. Schmale noted that the crisis began in 2014, with Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. “So, all children that were born since - all children up to the age of 11 - have never experienced their country at peace,” he said. Tweet URL

According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, 2024 saw a 30 per cent increase in civilian casualties compared to 2023. “The humanitarian situation is worsening, especially in frontline areas,” it said in an update, highlighting that a full 36 per cent of Ukraine’s population - 12.7 million people - needs humanitarian aid this year.

...

Speaking from Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine, Toby Fricker from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 2,520 children have been killed or injured since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

“The real number is likely far higher and it’s getting worse”, said Mr. Fricker, chief of communication in Ukraine.

“There was a more than 50 per cent increase in child casualties in 2024 compared to 2023 and what we see is no place is safe: schools, maternity wards, children’s hospitals, all have been affected by attacks.”

...

Underscoring the essential role played by women in Ukraine “beyond the battlefield”, UN Women Geneva Director Sofia Calltorp explained that “there is another story unfolding, and that is the story of all those women and girls who are bearing the brunt of this war.”

In 2024, the number of people killed and injured in Ukraine increased by 30 per cent, Ms. Calltorp noted. “Of them, 800 women lost their lives and more than 3,700 women were injured last year in Ukraine. We also know that the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons are women, and 6.7 million women are in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”

...

Cross posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29979354

In the nearly three years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s people have endured continuous attacks, “psychological terror…displacement and hardship”, top UN aid coordinator Matthias Schmale said on Friday.

Briefing from Ukrainian capital Kyiv after another night of “air sirens and more loud explosions”, Mr. Schmale noted that the crisis began in 2014, with Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. “So, all children that were born since - all children up to the age of 11 - have never experienced their country at peace,” he said. Tweet URL

According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, 2024 saw a 30 per cent increase in civilian casualties compared to 2023. “The humanitarian situation is worsening, especially in frontline areas,” it said in an update, highlighting that a full 36 per cent of Ukraine’s population - 12.7 million people - needs humanitarian aid this year.

...

Speaking from Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine, Toby Fricker from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 2,520 children have been killed or injured since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

“The real number is likely far higher and it’s getting worse”, said Mr. Fricker, chief of communication in Ukraine.

“There was a more than 50 per cent increase in child casualties in 2024 compared to 2023 and what we see is no place is safe: schools, maternity wards, children’s hospitals, all have been affected by attacks.”

...

Underscoring the essential role played by women in Ukraine “beyond the battlefield”, UN Women Geneva Director Sofia Calltorp explained that “there is another story unfolding, and that is the story of all those women and girls who are bearing the brunt of this war.”

In 2024, the number of people killed and injured in Ukraine increased by 30 per cent, Ms. Calltorp noted. “Of them, 800 women lost their lives and more than 3,700 women were injured last year in Ukraine. We also know that the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons are women, and 6.7 million women are in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”

...

In the nearly three years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s people have endured continuous attacks, “psychological terror…displacement and hardship”, top UN aid coordinator Matthias Schmale said on Friday.

Briefing from Ukrainian capital Kyiv after another night of “air sirens and more loud explosions”, Mr. Schmale noted that the crisis began in 2014, with Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. “So, all children that were born since - all children up to the age of 11 - have never experienced their country at peace,” he said. Tweet URL

According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, 2024 saw a 30 per cent increase in civilian casualties compared to 2023. “The humanitarian situation is worsening, especially in frontline areas,” it said in an update, highlighting that a full 36 per cent of Ukraine’s population - 12.7 million people - needs humanitarian aid this year.

...

Speaking from Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine, Toby Fricker from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 2,520 children have been killed or injured since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

“The real number is likely far higher and it’s getting worse”, said Mr. Fricker, chief of communication in Ukraine.

“There was a more than 50 per cent increase in child casualties in 2024 compared to 2023 and what we see is no place is safe: schools, maternity wards, children’s hospitals, all have been affected by attacks.”

...

Underscoring the essential role played by women in Ukraine “beyond the battlefield”, UN Women Geneva Director Sofia Calltorp explained that “there is another story unfolding, and that is the story of all those women and girls who are bearing the brunt of this war.”

In 2024, the number of people killed and injured in Ukraine increased by 30 per cent, Ms. Calltorp noted. “Of them, 800 women lost their lives and more than 3,700 women were injured last year in Ukraine. We also know that the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons are women, and 6.7 million women are in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”

...

NATO is planning to build a pipeline system from Germany to Poland and the Czech Republic to ensure a rapid supply of jet fuel for fighter aircraft in the event of a war with Russia, weekly German magazine Der Spiegel reported.

The existing Cold War-era pipeline system of the military alliance currently ends in western Germany.

Der Spiegel cited an internal memo from the Bundeswehr - Germany's armed forces - as stating that there are "significant problems in the sustainable fuel supply for forces that would need to be deployed to the eastern border in case of emergency".

...

Cross posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29929397

A Chinese navy ship fired live rounds on Saturday after issuing a warning through a radio broadcast, the New Zealand government said.

Personnel on a New Zealand naval frigate "observed live rounds being fired from the Zunyi's main gun, as would be expected during the course of such an exercise," the office of New Zealand's defense minister said in a statement.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said "we monitoring and shadowing and tracking the fleet."

It came a day after China conducted similar drills in international waters between Australia and New Zealand, which led to disruptions in flights.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that the government did not yet have "a satisfactory answer from China as to the question of the notice" of the drills, which he has said was "disconcerting" for commercial aviation.

Australia and New Zealand have been monitoring the three Chinese navy vessels — a frigate, a cruiser and a supply tanker — since they were seen off Australia's shores last week.

A Chinese navy ship fired live rounds on Saturday after issuing a warning through a radio broadcast, the New Zealand government said.

Personnel on a New Zealand naval frigate "observed live rounds being fired from the Zunyi's main gun, as would be expected during the course of such an exercise," the office of New Zealand's defense minister said in a statement.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said "we monitoring and shadowing and tracking the fleet."

It came a day after China conducted similar drills in international waters between Australia and New Zealand, which led to disruptions in flights.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that the government did not yet have "a satisfactory answer from China as to the question of the notice" of the drills, which he has said was "disconcerting" for commercial aviation.

Australia and New Zealand have been monitoring the three Chinese navy vessels — a frigate, a cruiser and a supply tanker — since they were seen off Australia's shores last week.

Swedish authorities said on Friday they are investigating reports of a breach of another undersea cable in the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish Coast Guard dispatched a vessel to the location of the reported breach, east of the island of Gotland.

"It is in the Swedish economic zone and we are assisting with the crime scene investigation," a spokesperson told the AFP news agency.

Police are also investigating.

Finnish telecommunications company Cinia said on Friday that it had detected minor damage on its C-Lion1 fiber-optic cable that connects Finland and Germany. However, there was no impact on the cable's functionality.

Cross posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29928207

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, on Friday said Europe needed to ramp up pressure on Washington to stand by NATO allies and not impose an unfair peace on Ukraine.

Her comments came after US President Donald Trump spoke to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin last week to discuss ending the war and before Trump declared he doesn't consider it essential for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be present at talks aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

"I don't think he's very important to be in meetings," Trump said in an audio interview with Fox News, adding that Zelenskyy has been negotiating "with no cards, and you get sick of it."

...

Baerbock's statements were similar to those of other European leaders discussing how to approach likely changes to transatlantic relations during Trump's second term.

"We are increasing the pressure on the Americans so that they have as much to lose as possible if they no longer stand by the side of the liberal democracies of Europe," Baerbock told a campaign event in Potsdam.

The foreign minister referred to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's declaration of a "turning point" when it came to increasing Berlin's military strength in light of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

...

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, on Friday said Europe needed to ramp up pressure on Washington to stand by NATO allies and not impose an unfair peace on Ukraine.

Her comments came after US President Donald Trump spoke to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin last week to discuss ending the war and before Trump declared he doesn't consider it essential for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be present at talks aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

"I don't think he's very important to be in meetings," Trump said in an audio interview with Fox News, adding that Zelenskyy has been negotiating "with no cards, and you get sick of it."

...

Baerbock's statements were similar to those of other European leaders discussing how to approach likely changes to transatlantic relations during Trump's second term.

"We are increasing the pressure on the Americans so that they have as much to lose as possible if they no longer stand by the side of the liberal democracies of Europe," Baerbock told a campaign event in Potsdam.

The foreign minister referred to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's declaration of a "turning point" when it came to increasing Berlin's military strength in light of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

...