A group of OSCE participating States have launched an independent investigation in accordance with the Moscow Mechanism to investigate cases of deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

"I welcome the invocation of the Moscow Mechanism by 45 OSCE States to address the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia. We need resolute joint actions to stop this genocidal practice, return children back to Ukraine, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable," Kuleba said on Twitter on Thursday.

The Moscow Mechanism adopted at the third stage of the Human Dimension Conference in 1991, complements and strengthens the Vienna Mechanism. It provides for the possibility of sending missions of experts to assist participating States in resolving a particular issue or problem related to the human dimension.