According to Russia, almost 1.1 million people have been resettled in Russia from war-torn regions of Ukraine since Moscow’s invasion of the neighboring country began in February.
And the Interfax agency, citing the commander of the Russian army, Mikhail Mezintsev, reported that there were about 200,000 children among those transferred to Russia. He added that on Monday alone, 11.5 thousand people, including 1,850 children, were transferred from Ukraine to Russia.
Russia describes it as an evacuation to get people to safety from the fighting on the ground and alleged violence from the Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv.
Ukraine regards this as a forced deportation of its citizens from the territories occupied by Russia in the east and south. According to Kyiv, the Russian army does not allow people to flee from the territory controlled by Ukraine.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine accused Russia of kidnapping Ukrainian children and using them for propaganda purposes.
