The United States government insists that Russia stop the deportation of Ukrainian citizens, including children, from the occupied territories, U.S. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller has said during a briefing in Washington.

"One of the worst incidents we have seen in this war is the deportation of Ukrainian civilians to Russia, including civilians who have been forcibly separated from their families," he said.

The State Department spokesman said for the U.S. government, such actions by Russia were an important indicator that "Russian forces and officials have committed crimes against humanity."

"We call, as we have before, for Russia to stop those abusive actions and return Ukraine's children," Miller said.

As reported, Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets appealed to Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflicts, with a request to receive lists of deported Ukrainian children from the Russian side and transfer them to Ukraine.

"In the report, the Commissioner for Children's Rights of the Russian Federation [Maria Lvova-Belova] said Russia took more than 700,000 Ukrainian children out of Ukraine in 2022," Lubinets said on the Telegram channel on Monday.