Santa Cruz Standard

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ukrainian Ambassador to America Oksana Markarova, and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin held a press conference to highlight their bipartisan, bicameral congressional resolution which strongly condemns the transfer and forced adoption of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation, rebukes nations who provide aid and support to the Russian Federation’s kidnapping enterprise, and calls for the return of Ukrainian children to their home country and their families.

Between February 24, 2022, and March 22, 2023, over 6,000 children in Ukraine have been taken from their families by the Russian Federation through forced transfers and deportations. In March, the United Nations Human Rights Council determined that the Russian actions are a violation of human rights and on March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin for these kidnappings.

A transcript of Rep. Panetta’s remarks is included below. You can also watch Rep. Panetta’s remarks, here.

“Let's make one thing clear, the Russian president is an alleged war criminal. Not only due to his unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, not only because of that, but because he is alleged of war crimes for the unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children into Russia.

“As you heard, a recent report found that since February of 2022, over 6,000 children have been transferred into 43 Russian facilities. These are places where Russians are trying to reeducate Ukrainian children with Russian propaganda, and in order to facilitate the permanent displacement of these children.

“To me, that is not only a war crime, it's not only a crime, it is a marker of genocide, an attempt to erase the very identity of a nation. That is why I'm proud to stand here with my colleagues, Senator Klobuchar and of course, Representative Bacon as co-authors of this concurrent resolution, which calls out Vladimir Putin, which compares his actions to the worst war criminals in human history, and condemns Russia's deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.“Moreover, through this resolution, we in Congress, we in the Senate, and we as Americans can demonstrate our commitment, not just to Ukrainian children, but to the Ukrainian people in their resolve to fight for their democracy and in their resolve to return these children to their homes so that they continue to have that sense of belonging in Ukraine, but, most importantly, that sense of identity to what it means to be Ukrainian.”

Original source can be found here