The Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, on Tuesday rejected as false the accusations of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which hold her responsible for the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine, reports Agerpres. The ICC issued a warrant for his arrest.

On March 17, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of illegally deporting children from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops.

The Hague court said it had information that hundreds of children were taken from orphanages and orphanages, and some were given up for adoption in Russia.

• What does Maria Lvova-Belova say about the ICC arrest warrant in her name

At a press conference in Moscow, Maria Lvova-Belova stated that the consent of the parents was always sought, the commission acted in the interests of the child and that it is more correct to talk about guardianship than about adoption.

If certain problems arise with individual families, she declared her readiness to help solve them.

“The Donetsk and Luhansk republics have appealed to Russia to accept civilians, including orphans and children whose parents have disappeared”

“It is not clear to the President’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights what exactly the charges of the International Criminal Court are and what they are based on,” says the press release of his commission on current activities, published before the press conference.

“The use of the formula ‘illegal deportation of the population (children)’ in the official communiqués of the ISS is surprising,” the commission notes, adding that it has not received any document from the ISS, whose jurisdiction Russia does not recognize.

According to the commission, Donetsk and Luhansk – two regions of Ukraine partially controlled by Russia – have asked Russia to accept civilians, including orphans and children whose parents have disappeared.

Maria Lvova-Belova said that since February 2022, when Putin ordered troops to enter Ukraine, Russia has accepted more than 5 million refugees from the Ukrainian Donbas, including 730,000 children.

After the invasion, Ukraine labeled Russia a brutal imperial aggressor who had committed war crimes, including child abduction. Russia, which says it is conducting a “special military operation,” says the West is ignoring Ukraine’s own crimes.

Lvova-Belova said that she rejects the accusations of the International Criminal Court, Ukraine and what her commission called misinformation by foreign journalists about the alleged “deportation of children”.

Lvova-Belova also rejected accusations that some children were taken to camps for so-called re-education. According to her, the Commission is not aware of a single case where a child from Eastern Ukraine was separated from blood relatives for adoption.

According to the Kremlin, the arrest warrant issued by the ICC is an extremely partisan decision. Russian officials deny that war crimes were committed in Ukraine. Putin’s allies called the ISS – which is not recognized by countries such as Russia, China and the United States – an “illegal entity”, reports Reuters.

• Read also: VIDEO Children abducted by Russia returned to Ukraine: “Mom, I don’t want to tell you, you don’t sleep at night”

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