Joy for six Ukrainian children as they are reunited with their families following Qatar-brokered deal with Moscow 20 months after they were snatched by Russia
Half a dozen Ukrainian children will soon be reunited with their families for the first time in almost 20 months in the latest Qatar-brokered deal with Moscow.
Kiev says thousands of minors were transferred to Russia or Russian territory following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
But thanks to sensitive negotiations between Moscow and diplomats in Qatar – backed by Ukraine – six children will be, or already are, back in the loving arms of their families.
The new plan to secure the safe return of hundreds of Ukrainian youth to Russia saw its first success in October, when four Ukrainian children were handed over to Qatari diplomats before being returned to their families.
The children included in today's announcement of the latest reunification operation were not named but include an 11-year-old boy whose mother is a Ukrainian soldier currently being held captive in Russia.
HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Nasser Al Thani, Qatar's Ambassador to Russia, welcomes Ukrainian child as part of reunification
HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Nasser Al Thani, Qatar's Ambassador to Russia, welcomes Ukrainian child as part of reunification
The little boy, who lost his father ten years ago, travels from Moscow to Ukraine, where he will live with his maternal aunt, who will become his guardian.
The youngest of the children, an eight-year-old boy, had been living with his grandmother in the town of Kremennaya, occupied Lukansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine since March 2022, a month after Putin's attack.
In a carefully executed operation, Qatari officials obtained permission for the little boy's mother to travel to Luhansk so they could see each other again.
The pair will be escorted by diplomats from Qatar to Moscow before traveling with the wider group to Ukraine.
The reunion suffered a painful setback on its first attempt when a vehicle the child was traveling in broke down, delaying his departure from his grandmother's village by a day.
But his grandmother was able to meet the boy's mother in Luhansk to hand the boy over.
Meanwhile, two siblings who stayed with their older sister and father in Russia will be reunited with their mother in Ukraine via Moscow.
A 13-year-old boy who was staying with his grandmother in the village of Tarasovka, Russia, was the first to be reunited with loved ones and is back with his mother, who lives in Ukraine.
The youngster and his mother travel to Moscow before returning to Ukraine with the other children and their loved ones.
Qatari diplomat welcomes Ukrainian child as part of reunification
Qatari diplomat welcomes Ukrainian children as part of reunification
Finally, a 15-year-old boy who lived with his grandmother in the occupied Zaporozhye region of Ukraine will join his mother in Kiev via Moscow.
Lolwah Al-Khater, Qatar's Minister of International Cooperation, is mediating and monitoring the children's safe return.
He said: “We are happy that another six Ukrainian children have been successfully reunited with their families.
“As millions of people around the world take time to gather with loved ones, it is heartwarming to know that a few more families will be reunited this holiday season.
“Moments like these serve as a timely reminder that mediation can yield positive results when both parties, regardless of their differences, are willing to work patiently and in good faith. We thank our Russian and Ukrainian counterparts for their full engagement in these discussions.
“Qatar's approach has been to identify areas where both the Ukrainian and Russian sides share common interests and use those as a basis to build trust.
“While the road ahead is still long and the challenges are many, we remain committed to engaging with both parties as long as there is a shared willingness to stay the course.”
Diplomats in Qatar trying to ensure the safe return of Ukrainian children to their families face several challenges, not least the changing routes required to get them back home.
HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Nasser Al Thani, Qatar's Ambassador to Russia, welcomes Ukrainian children as part of reunification
Families travel to Kiev via Moscow and officials from Minsk and Qatar escort the children to the Ukrainian border, where they are handed over to their Ukrainian counterparts.
Diplomats received the children at the Qatari embassy in Moscow before arranging their safe return to Ukraine.
The successful return of the Ukrainian children is believed to reaffirm Qatar's commitment to promoting peace, stability and security at the regional and international levels.
Kiev estimates that between 16,000 and 20,000 children ended up in Russia without their parents' consent. Moscow claims the number is in the hundreds.
International critics have condemned the stay of Ukrainian children in Russia, comparing it to ethnic cleansing.
In March, judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
It accused them both of war crimes and said they bear individual responsibility for the “unlawful deportation” and “unlawful transfer” of Ukrainian children to Russia.