Margarita was taken from a children’s hospital in Kherson, when Russia invaded the city in 2022. The BBC, together with the Ukrainian human rights researcher Victoria Novikova, has tried to find out what happened to her. Now the top Russian politician Sergei Mironov is blamed for having adopted the forcibly deported girl. He is a big supporter of Russia’s warfare in Ukraine and has been awarded honors by President Vladimir Putin. He rejects the allegations in the BBC’s investigation. Sergej Mironov, then the leader of the Russian National Assembly, visited the Storting and Storting President Thorbjørn Jagland in 2007. Photo: NTB Story about Margarita The ten-month-old girl was treated for bronchitis at the children’s hospital in Kherson in 2022. The mother renounced parental rights before the girl was born. and the father has not been located. The children’s hospital also functioned as an orphanage. An unknown woman turned up at the hospital in August 2020 and introduced herself as the head of the Ministry of Children in Moscow, writes the BBC. Russian bureaucrats who controlled the hospital are said to have demanded that Margarita be sent home again. Within a week, Russian men in military uniform met to pick up the girl, according to the investigation by the BBC and Victoria Novikova. In the weeks that followed, several men in military uniform are said to have turned up and picked up the children. Igor Kastyukevich, a member of the Russian National Assembly, is said to have also been there. Inna Sangadzhiyeva in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. Photo: The Norwegian Helsingfors Committee Show up at a Russian politician After several months of investigation, the BBC and the Ukrainian human rights investigator have identified the woman who turned up at the children’s hospital. Her name is Inna Varlamova and she worked for the Russian National Assembly, but it is unclear to what extent, writes the BBC. Last December, a birth certificate must have been created for a 14-month-old girl. It says that she was supposedly born in Podolsk outside Moscow. Varlamova is married to Sergej Mironov. He is a Russian politician and leader of the social conservative party SRZP. It is part of the opposition that supports Vladimir Putin. On paper, Sergej Mironov and Inna Varlamova were listed as parents. Her birthday was 31 October 2021, the same day as Margarita. The BBC has obtained the adoption papers for the girl. They must confirm that the girl has been given a new name and a new nationality. The Russian authorities tell the BBC that they are not aware of the case and cannot comment on it. On Thursday, Mironov wrote on his Telegram channel that he had been subjected to an information attack. – I see no point in reacting to yet another false hysteria unleashed by the Ukrainian special services and their Western curators, he writes. – Litigious Inna Sangadzhiyeva at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee has Russia as a special field. – In this case, the child has not only been abducted, but they have changed their identity and name. It is absolutely against the law, she says. – In the beginning, the message to the Russians was that they help the children who are abused by the Nazis. It’s just propaganda. In February this year, American researchers published a report in which they claim that Russia has taken at least 6,000 children from Ukraine. Judges in the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and the children’s representative in the Russian government, Maria Lvova-Belova, in March this year, due to war crimes. The ICC claimed they were responsible for the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russian territory. The Russian government denies this, but says they are evacuating children to protect them. – After the ICC came on the scene, Russian authorities have spoken less openly about this than before, says Sangadzhiyeva. Kristin Oudmayer is director of children’s rights at Unicef. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news Unicef is concerned Kristin Oudmayer is director of children’s rights at the UN organization Unicef Norway. The organization has no details about what allegedly happened to the Ukrainian girl. Oudmayer nevertheless says that Unicef has long been concerned about the reports which say that Ukrainian children have been abducted to Russia. – We flag since the war started a concern that children would be lost as a result of the great refugee trauma, she says to news. – States must never act in such a way that their children’s rights to citizenship, identity or family relationships are taken away. Oudmayer cannot say anything about why Russia is doing this. Experience from other wars shows that children are often abused to weaken the other party. – Adoption should never take place in a humanitarian crisis. – One should not assume that children who are separated from their parents during war are orphans, says Kristin Oudmayer.
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Putin ally blamed for adopting forcibly deported girl from Ukraine – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
