Ambassador: Italy is ready to cooperate to return children abducted by Russia

Italy is ready to cooperate with the Ukrainian authorities and relevant international organizations to return Ukrainian children who were illegally taken to Russia. This was reported by the Italian Embassy in Ukraine.

«Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Carlo Formosa met with Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, who is responsible for the protection of human rights in Ukraine and the implementation of paragraph 4 of the Peace Formula, aimed at releasing all prisoners and deportees of the conflict, both military and civilian.»

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed in detail the situation with prisoners of war and illegally detained civilians. They also emphasized the importance of conducting prisoner exchanges. They noted that it should be done in a transparent manner and in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The next topic of conversation was the return of Ukrainian children who were illegally taken to Russia. Ambassador Formosa assured Ukraine of Italy’s full readiness to cooperate with the Ukrainian authorities and relevant international organizations on this issue.

Ukrainian children in Italy

As a reminder, an Italian court recently refused to return 57 orphans, aged 6 to 16. The children were taken to Italy after the outbreak of the full-scale war from Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Region. ANSA reported on Thursday, August 15, that the children are currently being held in three centers in Bergamo.

The decision to ban the children’s return to Ukraine was made by the Juvenile Court in Brescia. According to this decision, the children can stay in these centers virtually indefinitely.

ANSA notes that initially, the court allowed the return of the children, a move sought by the Ukrainian authorities. However, the court later received reports from the guardians, the Ministry of Justice, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stating that a large number of children had filed, or intended to file, applications for international protection with the territorial commission, citing fears for their safety if they returned to areas close to the war zone. As a result, the court suspended the procedure for the return of the children, which was due to begin on August 16. The court explained its decision by the need to allow the commission to investigate and make appropriate decisions on the applications filed by the children.