Ukraine needs to intensify the work of organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the issue of restoring the rights of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk said.

"Time is against our children. Therefore, we need major activation of the international community and organizations such as the ICRC in the issue of protecting and restoring the rights of illegally deported Ukrainian children, especially in the context of the adopted... UN resolution with direct demands on Russia to immediately stop the practice of deporting children and ensure their return and reunification with their families," Kondratiuk said at a meeting with Head of the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine Jürg Eglin.

According to the Verkhovna Rada press service, the deputy chairman said Ukraine understands the principles of neutrality in the activities of the ICRC, laid down by the Geneva Conventions. But at the same time, according to her, it is this organization that is entrusted with the responsibility to monitor compliance with international humanitarian law.

"There can be no inaction when it comes to the abduction and deprivation of identity of Ukrainian children, a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Especially when these are not isolated cases, but a purposeful criminal state policy of Russia. I hope that the Ukrainian mission of the ICRC will convey this position and these arguments to its colleagues," Kondratiuk said.

She also raised the need for the ICRC to become more active in accessing and obtaining more complete information about Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians held by Russia and illegally deported Ukrainian children.

"We know the official figure of 19,546 children abducted by Russia, but we understand that there are many more. We appreciate the efforts of the Ukrainian mission to provide comprehensive assistance to the civilian population in Ukraine during the war. However, we cannot fail to note the inaction of the Russian representative office of the ICRC in establishing information about the exact number and location of deported Ukrainian children and in systematically working for their further return home," Kondratiuk said.

She also said Ukraine actually independently managed to return 387 children.

The deputy chairman also expressed gratitude to the ICRC mission for humanitarian assistance (food, hygiene kits, school supplies, first aid supplies, glucometers, medical equipment for hospitals) to war-affected citizens of Ukraine and communities, primarily in frontline areas. The number of insulin capsules and cartridges provided as humanitarian aid alone amounted to over 188,000.

According to Kondratiuk, some 15 hospitals and 18 primary healthcare institutions in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions received such support. In total, over 1,000 ICRC activists are involved in the humanitarian mission in Ukraine, and the assistance budget is EUR 300 million.