Russian invaders are planning to forcibly relocate from the occupied territories about 2000 Ukrainian children, Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov said on TV.

The official version of the Russian propaganda syas that the children are going to be taken to Moscow for New Year celebrations.

The mayor stressed that the Russians cannot be trusted, because this is not the first time they have taken children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation under various pretexts.

Moreover, there are often cases when the occupiers simply kidnap children and take them to Russia for adoption.

In September, Russians took children from the temporarily occupied Energodar and Kamianka-Dniprovska, promising to return them in a week. However, after some time, the occupiers ordered the parents of the deported children to hand over their winter clothes.

The mayor urged parents not to let children go to Russia no matter what Russian occupiers say.