Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of pursuing a “consistent criminal policy of deporting our people” into mostly remote areas of Russia.
During his daily address on Wednesday, Zelensky said more than 200,000 children have been deported so far.
Russia “forcibly removes both adults and children. This is one of Russia’s most heinous war crimes. In total, more than 200,000 Ukrainian children have been deported so far. These are orphans from orphanages. And children with parents. And children divorced from their families,” Zelensky said.
“The Russian state disperses these people on its territory and settles our citizens, in particular, in remote regions. The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make deportees forget about Ukraine and not be able to return.”
He also said that so far, at least 243 children have died during the war, 446 have been injured, and another 139 are missing.
CNN cannot independently verify the numbers of deportations or casualties.
