Lukashenko would help Putin kidnap children Suspected jihadists kill ten civilians in Burkina Faso

They are deported against their will, have to learn the Russian national anthem, the Russian language and sometimes even how to carry weapons. They are taught to insult their homeland – Ukraine: Russia is said to have kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children during its war of aggression. A report by the British ‘Telegraph’ would show that Moscow is apparently receiving support from a close ally.

The allegations weigh heavily: according to them, the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko is significantly involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia – and thus in a war crime.

Re-education and military training of children

A few weeks ago, the fact-finding mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) found that Russia is apparently committing war crimes by kidnapping children. Three legal experts from Latvia, Norway and the Czech Republic were commissioned by 45 of the 57 OSCE member states to investigate Kiev’s allegations. Authorities there recently turned over some 19,000 children who were reportedly forcibly deported by Russia.

The OSCE could not determine how many children were actually affected, as Russia does not document the deportations. However, according to the experts’ report, there is no doubt that the crimes were committed by Moscow. The abducted children are therefore exposed to re-education, information campaigns and military training. Moscow is also actively preventing the children from returning and has not provided Kiev with a list of those affected. Turkey and Saudi Arabia have therefore arranged for Kiev and Moscow to draw up lists of the names of the children deported to Russia, the Financial Times reports.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) had already made the allegations early this year: the court had issued an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ombudswoman for children’s rights, Maria Lwova-Belowa.

Re-education camps in Russia and Belarus

The ombudswoman herself makes no secret of Russia’s actions: she said on Russian state television that the children have been released for adoption by Russian families or sent to “recreation camps” due to “security concerns”. They will also receive Russian citizenship in an accelerated process. For example, the Russian state pretends that it only cares about the well-being of the children – instead of illegally relocating them.

According to a study by the American University of Yale, a total of 43 such camps have been set up in Russia and on the illegally annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. But there are apparently a few more in Belarus: as the British “Telegraph” now reports, more than 2,000 Ukrainian children have been brought to Belarus since September last year. By the fall of this year there will be about a thousand more. This is evidenced by evidence submitted to the ICC.

Accordingly, three such children’s camps are said to be located in the Minsk region: in the sanatorium Ostroshitsky Gorodok, the national education and health center for children Zubrenok and the children’s camp Dubrava, which is owned by the Belarusian state fertilizer company Belaruskali. A fourth location would be the Golden Sands sanatorium in the Gomel region.

“So that Putin takes control of all of Ukraine”

In a document obtained by the Telegraph, Dmitry Mezentsev, head of a Russian-Belarusian organization and former Russian ambassador to Belarus, calls for cooperation between the Belarusian and Russian state railway operators to organize the “transport of children from Donbas to fraternal Belarus for rehabilitation”.

A collaboration that apparently already takes place: according to research by the « Telegraph », the Ukrainian children are first taken by Russia to the city of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, before being transported by train to the Belarusian capital Minsk. They would then be distributed by bus to the four facilities.

There, the children are systematically ‘re-educated’ – often with violence if they do not do what is asked of them. For example, they must believe that they are Russians. In addition, they are addressed only in Russian. In many Ukrainian families, the different generations often speak both languages. They should also learn the Russian national anthem and how to use a weapon. They are also incited to hate Ukraine before being placed with Russian families, according to the report. So they should learn to rebuke their homeland.

Glimpses of such a propaganda show are provided by a video available to the ICC, according to the «Telegraph», allegedly from the Belarusian Dubrava camp. Two Belarusian pop singers give a speech to countless children and say something like: “So that we live in peace, so that Biden dies, […] so that Zelenskyy also dies and Putin flourishes and takes control of all of Ukraine.” While some children sink silently into their seats, the singers receive thunderous applause from others.

Arrest warrant for Putin’s aide Lukashenko?

Lukashenko’s alleged help shows once again that he is acting as Putin’s henchman. He had proven his loyalty to the Kremlin boss time and time again in the past.

First by allowing Russia to launch its war of aggression against Ukraine from its territory, then by allowing more Russian troops to be stationed in Belarus. He allowed Putin to station tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory and ultimately mediated the uprising of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, even offering his mercenaries exile in his country, where they are now apparently involved in the training of Belarusian soldiers.

Consequences are therefore demanded at EU level: the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defense Policy has asked the International Criminal Court in The Hague to also issue an arrest warrant for Lukashenko – similar to the one against Putin and his ombudswoman for children’s rights, Lvowa-Belowa.

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