On April 27, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized the forcible transfer and ‘russification’ of Ukrainian children as practices that match with the international definition of genocide.

The resolution was adopted by PACE with 87 votes ‘for’, 1 ‘against and 1 member abstained.

‘PACE has demanded the safe return of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred to Russia or territory it temporarily occupies, as well as punishment of those who carried it out at all levels – pointing out that the documented evidence of this practice matches with the international definition of genocide’, the statement says.

In the resolution, the assembly referred to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted on December 9, 1948.

‘The Assembly welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on war crimes charges, and urged their enforcement’, the statement concludes.