The Prosecutor General’s Office downplays data on deported and missing children: Svyatoslav Palamar
The issue of missing and deported Ukrainian children is one of the most acute and painful topics in modern Ukraine. War not only takes lives, it separates families, forces children to leave their homes and sometimes their country. Many of them become victims of forced deportation to Russia or go missing, leaving their families in despair and obscurity. This tragedy is another proof of the profound inhumanity of the aggressor’s actions, which does not stop at using children as an instrument of war. Against this background, the opinions of the Ukrainian serviceman, lieutenant colonel, deputy commander of the 12th special purpose brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine, Hero of Ukraine Svyatoslav Palamar draw attention to how important it is to call a spade a spade and not to minimize the scale of crimes committed by the Russian Federation.
In his post on Facebook Svyatoslav Palamar, reacting to the data published by the Prosecutor General’s Office, said that they are far from real. According to official data, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, 596 children have died, 1,723 children have been injured, and 1,944 children have gone missing. In addition, more than 19,540 children are considered deported or temporarily displaced.
However, the military officer doubts the completeness of these data. He draws attention to the fact that these figures do not take into account the tragedies that occurred in the temporarily occupied territories, such as Mariupol, Volnovakha and other settlements that came under the control of Russian troops.
“Do not underestimate the crimes committed by terrorists from the Russian Federation. Are you sure of these numbers? Did you accidentally miss Mariupol, Volnovakha and other temporarily occupied settlements since the full-scale invasion? Why publish in such a format?
I have said and will continue to say that in Mariupol, terrorists from the Russian Federation killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including children, who were not mentioned in this statement.
I don’t understand why this is not being talked about? I believe it is correct to say that these are not complete figures and they really do not correspond to reality, they do not reveal all the crimes of the Russian Federation. In the temporarily occupied territories, we cannot determine the exact number of victims of these scum. But I believe that our prosecutor’s office will definitely establish the number, numbers, names and surnames of all dead citizens of Ukraine, no matter how difficult it is, but it is important.” – wrote Palamar.
Therefore, the military emphasizes that statements of this format can create the impression that the scale of the tragedy is smaller than it really is. Svyatoslav is particularly outraged by the fact that official reports hardly mention children from Mariupol and other settlements where, according to him, Russian terrorists killed tens of thousands of civilians, including children.
In his post, Svyatoslav reminds that silence or distortion of the scale of the tragedy can devalue human losses. He calls on society, the authorities and the international community not to downplay the crimes committed by the Russian Federation.
This post is a call not only for justice, but also for preserving the memory of every child who became a victim of war. According to Svyatoslav Palamar, our joint responsibility is to ensure that every crime of Russia is documented, every victim is named, and every guilty person is punished.
The issue of missing and deported Ukrainian children remains an open wound on the body of Ukrainian society. Only an understanding of the real scale of the tragedy will help Ukrainians and the world community to give an adequate response to the crimes that are being committed.
