More than 800 children have been killed since the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine in 2014, including at least 551 killed during the full-scale invasion, Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin said on June 4 on national television.
At least 1,368 children were also injured due to the all-out war, according to Kostin.
Russia's war of aggression has taken a staggering toll on Ukraine's civilian population.
The U.N. said in April that it had recorded almost 11,000 civilians killed and over 20,500 injured. The actual number is likely higher, as Russia prevents independent monitoring in the occupied areas that suffered the heaviest destruction, like Mariupol.
"The war did not begin in 2022, but in 2014. Since then, Russia has taken the lives of more than 800 Ukrainian children. We do not yet know the real scale of crimes committed in the occupied territories, which we do not have access to," Kostin said.
According to Kostin, 3,800 criminal proceedings are currently underway, while 54 people who committed crimes against children have been identified and announced as suspects.
The investigation was completed in 43 criminal cases, and the verdicts have been submitted to court. Thirty-one people have been convicted of war crimes against children as of June 4.
Kostin said that Ukraine continues to cooperate on a daily basis with the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's Office regarding the issue of Ukrainian children's deportation.
"We are constantly exchanging evidence and information. The arrest warrants issued by the ICC are only the first result," Kostin said.
Seven people who are suspected of the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children have been identified, according to the Prosecutor General. A member of the Russian parliament and a person close to the leader of the "A Just Russia – For Truth" party are among them.
Ukraine also continues to work on bringing children back home from Russia or Russian-held territory and punishing those responsible.
"The international coalition, created for this purpose as part of the implementation of President (Volodymyr) Zelensky's peace formula, involves more than 36 countries and is working actively. We already have results: the return of groups of children," Kostin said.
At least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and less than 400 have been returned home, according to the Ukrainian government's Children of War database.
Kateryna Hodunova
