Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s head of the Office of the President, held an online conversation with human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to discuss protecting Ukrainian children and holding Russia accountable for its alleged crimes against them, according to a statement released by the presidency Saturday.
“According to official data alone, at least 20,000 children have been forcibly removed by the Russian military from the temporarily occupied territories (of Ukraine), separated from their parents and forcibly transferred to Russian families,” Yermak said in a Telegram post, adding “their own parents have no idea where their children are or what happened to them.”
Yermak said he emphasized the “importance of getting all the deported Ukrainian children back to their homeland and punishing the Russian criminals." Going forward, he said Kyiv would develop new methods for protecting children's rights and preventing future attempts to harm them.
Remember: As CNN has reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin's government is accused of deporting thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia and operating a network of camps where the kids underwent "political reeducation." The alleged scheme is the subject of International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Putin and another Moscow official.
More on the call: Clooney also reaffirmed her support for Ukraine, according to the presidency's statement. The Clooney Foundation for Justice — which the human rights lawyer co-founded with her husband, American actor George Clooney — said it would "work to promote accountability and deliver justice for victims of international crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian official thanked Clooney for the support, referencing a speech she gave at the United Nations Security Council shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
"People in Ukraine know about your support and appreciate it a lot. Many people heard your speech and everything you said about the war and Ukrainians. This is extremely important indeed," Yermak was quoted as saying.