💬 Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

June 1 marks International Children’s Day.

For Russia, protecting children is a key domestic and foreign policy priority. We proceed from the understanding that the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the “gold standard” in this field. Over the three decades of its existence, it has not lost its relevance. It is thanks to this document that care for minors is regarded as one of the most important tasks for any state.

At the same time, despite the progress achieved globally, grave challenges and appalling problems persist in this area: hunger, lack of access to healthcare, violence and conflicts, and terrorist attacks against children.

Children’s issues are being heavily politicised, double standards are being promoted, and certain countries are unscrupulously exploiting the emotional nature of this undoubtedly sensitive matter to spread lies, slander and disinformation against other states.

The most telling example of such approaches is, of course, the story of the so-called “abducted Ukrainian children”. Let me recall: the Kiev regime invented a story alleging that Russia had abducted them. For years, it has fanatically replicated this myth on every international platform. And those platforms have been only too happy to listen – without bothering to verify the facts.

At the same time, they cynically ignore the fact that our country, acting on instructions from its leadership, has been working to reunite children with their families since the very beginning of the special military operation.

As of today, 30 children from 22 families have returned to Russia from Ukraine, while 141 minors from 114 families have been reunited with their parents or relatives living in Ukraine and other countries.

#KievRegimgeCrimes

Zelensky’s Western handlers prefer to ignore the fact that the war unleashed by the Kiev regime against the people of Donbass in 2014 has taken its heaviest toll on children.

From 2014 to February 2022, at least 129 children were killed and more than 500 wounded in the LPR and DPR. The youngest victim of Ukrainian aggression was only 27 days old.

◼️ Let me also recall the most egregious cases of the past three years 👇

• The attack on central Belgorod on December 30, 2023, ahead of the holidays, when shelling of a New Year fairground, Christmas tree and skating rink killed 25 people, including 5 children, and wounded more than 100 civilians.

• Comparable in its deliberate cruelty was the ATACMS missile strike on Uchkuyevka city beach in Sevastopol on June 23, 2024, where many families were spending their Sunday afternoon. A total of 153 civilians were injured, including 27 children. Four people were killed, among them two children aged two and nine.

• On the night of December 31, 2025 to January 1, 2026, the Ukrainian militants launched a targeted drone strike on a café and hotel in the village of Khorly, Kherson Region, where civilians had gathered to celebrate the New Year. 29 people were killed, including two children.

• On May 22, the Ukrainian militants attacked the academic building and dormitory of Starobelsk College in the LPR at night. More than 80 people sustained injuries of varying severity, 21 were killed. All of them were ordinary students.

The Kiev regime is targeting children in Russia through phone calls and messages – seeking to deceive them and cause harm by exploiting their trust and lack of understanding of the legal consequences of their actions.

There is also a system for recruiting schoolchildren via social media: children are offered money and manipulated into gathering information. There is evidence that Ukraine is using the internet to draw children into games that may have fatal consequences.

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🇷🇺 Russia's High Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova:

💬 Today, we mark International Children’s Day – a holiday that reminds us of every child’s right to a happy childhood, development and safety.

This day is already more than a century old, and over sixty countries around the world have joined this initiative. Yet there are also those who have begun to abandon this date – shifting it to other days, rewriting its history and distorting the very meaning of the holiday.

Last year, Zelensky shifted the holiday to another date in order to conform to “Western standards”. This year, on the eve of this date, a terrible tragedy took place in Starobelsk – one that crossed out the most fundamental human right: the right to life.

Ukrainian militants deliberately struck children who were asleep in their beds. 86 people sustained injuries, 21 children were killed.

Most of them were girls: Anya, Taisiya, Alina, Elena, Sofia, Darya, Alexandra, Tatyana, Oksana, Yana, Veronika, Anastasia, Victoria, Irina, Alisa and many others.

Unfortunately, the international community’s position on this issue remains ambiguous. Many prefer to keep silent or pretend that nothing happened, ignoring the obvious facts of the crime.

❗️ Our task is to preserve the truth and achieve justice. Impunity for such war crimes is unacceptable.

Do you know why it is important to mark Children’s Protection Day? Precisely because humanity must remember: protecting children’s rights is our shared priority and sacred duty.

#Announcement

🎙 On Thursday, June 4, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will hold her weekly briefing on current foreign policy issues in St Petersburg on the sidelines of the 29th St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

🕙 10:00 am MSK
🕖 7:00 am GMT
🕗 8:00 am CET
🕒 3:00 pm CST

For accreditation inquiries, please contact the MFA Press Centre. Accredited journalists will receive details on the technical aspects of submitting questions.

The Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman will answer media questions received by the call centre.

❗️ Accreditation is open until June 2, 12:00 pm MSK