On 17 March this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued two arrest warrants. One concerned Russian President Vladimir Putin, the other the country’s children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. Both are accused of being responsible for war crimes. They are said to have arranged for Ukrainian children to be sent from Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine to Russia. It is a violation of international law and other international laws and agreements. The accusations and arrest warrants were flatly rejected by the Russian authorities. A total of 23 children Before Belova became the Russian Children’s Ombudsman, she had given birth to five children of her own and adopted four. FAMILY: In total, Maria Lvova-Belova is responsible for 23 children. Photo: Reuters In addition, she had taken responsibility for 13 disabled children who lived in institutions that she had collected money to set up. And during a visit to the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine last year, she decided to adopt a 15-year-old boy she met there. Belova comes from the city of Penza in south-west Russia and is a trained music teacher. Rocket career Not so many years ago, Belova joined President Putin’s support party United Russia. It accelerated her career. WANTED: Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova has met President Vladimir Putin at least twice. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for both. Photo: Reuters She entered an academy for talented leaders during the president’s administration. And in 2021 she was appointed Russian Children’s Ombudsman. From the authorities’ point of view, she was probably a perfect candidate. She stands for traditional family values, and has followed the president’s repeated call to provide for many children. The 38-year-old has a background in the Russian Orthodox Church. Her husband was formerly a computer engineer, but a few years ago he trained as a priest in the country’s dominant church. Skaffer himself proves that Belova has a very prominent place in the Russian public. The state media covers what she does in a thorough manner. She also often posts propaganda-like images and videos of her projects on social media. The children’s ombudsman goes himself to accompany Ukrainian children on their journey to Russia. She has also handed over many children to families where they have been adopted. She has thanked President Putin for a new law that made it easier and faster to give the Ukrainian children Russian citizenship. In a way, Belova herself has presented a lot of evidence that she has been central to the work of getting Ukrainian children over to Russia. Both she and large parts of the Russian state apparatus seem to be proud of what they have achieved. Don’t return from summer camp Last summer, Natalia Rakk in the city of Kherson decided that her twin 13-year-old daughters should be allowed to go to a summer camp for a few weeks on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia took control of in 2014. Earlier this month, 31 children returned to Ukraine from Russia. It had been more than six months since they went on a summer camp to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula. Photo: Reuters At the time, Kherson was occupied by Russian forces. While the daughters were at the camp, they were told that they were not allowed to return as planned. – They said that we would be adopted, that we would be appointed guardians, says one 13-year-old to the Reuters news agency. The daughter had telephone contact with the mother who, together with other parents, traveled to Poland, Belarus and Russia. In the end, they had their children extradited and returned to Ukraine. – It was heartbreaking to see the crying children who remained behind the fence, says Natalia Rakk about other children who remained with the Russian authorities. Other Ukrainian children are said to come from orphanages, while some are said to have been separated from their parents or guardians in the war zone. Constitutes a war crime The Norwegian Erik Møse is a former Supreme Court judge, and he heads the UN commission of inquiry into Ukraine. A report from the commission states that the transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia constitutes a war crime. PROSECUTOR: Erik Møse heads a UN commission which concludes that the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia constitutes a war crime. Photo: Ukraine Crisis Media Center But Møse tells news that the commission’s work has not been easy. – In our report, we have considered the deportation of children. It has been a difficult task because the numbers are scattered, says Møse. Ukrainian authorities say about 20,000 children have been deported to Russia. The UN has documented that this has happened to 164 Ukrainian children. WAR CRIME: International law expert Cecilie Hellestveit says that Russia cannot take children from its enemy and naturalize them in its own population. Photo: Erik Hannemann And the Russian authorities will not cooperate with international organizations by presenting their own figures. International law expert Cecilie Hellestveit is helping to investigate what is happening in Ukraine for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. She tells news that Russia may be obliged to take Ukrainian children out of the war zone. But after that, the children must either be sent to a third country or back to Ukraine. It is not permitted to take the children of an enemy into one’s own territory and naturalize them into one’s own population. – It is not allowed. These are simply war crimes, says Hellestveit. – Does not understand the charges When the arrest warrant and the charges from the International Criminal Court were presented, the Russian children’s ombudsman said that she had not received any documents from the ICC. Russian Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova says she does not understand the accusations from the International Criminal Court. Photo: AFP – The accusations from the ICC are very abstract. We do not understand what we are accused of, said Belova. She demands to get the facts and claims that it all looks like a farce. The prevailing tone from the state-run Russian media and authorities has been that it has been in the best interests of the Ukrainian children to be transported out of the war zone in Ukraine to safety in Russia. It is also said that the children who have been taken out are either orphans or have been separated from their parents or guardians. The fact that it is Russia that has started the war of aggression is not emphasized.
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Russian children’s ombudsman wanted for war crimes – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
