Russia has brought thousands of Ukrainian children into the country. “Saved,” says Moscow, Kiev calls it “kidnapping.” The face of this “help” is Maria Lwowa-Belowa, who is now wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague with an arrest warrant.
Laugh. Loud, sneering laughter that Maria Lwowa-Belowa can hardly contain. The 38-year-old leans back on Monday’s show “Westi” on the Russian state broadcaster “Rossiya-1” and acts very relaxed. Three days earlier, the International Criminal Court in The Hague had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin – and also for her, his “Child Rights Commissioner”. The court accuses them of being personally responsible for the kidnapping and resettlement of children from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. “For the West, rescuing children is now a war crime,” Lvowa-Belowa mocked on the show, saying, “We’re going ahead, no arrest warrant will stop us.”
Since shortly before the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has been taking children from its neighboring country and distributing them to convalescent homes, orphanages and foster families across the vast country. A research team from the renowned US University Yale counted at least 43 such institutions. As the Russian-language online portal “Wjorstka” writes, the children there should be “instilled a love of Russia”.
