{"id":5839,"date":"2023-10-14T19:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T16:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=longreads&p=5839"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"fearing-sanctions-minsk-attempts-to-justify-transfers-of-ukrainian-children","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/5839\/","title":{"rendered":"Fearing sanctions, Minsk attempts to justify transfers of Ukrainian children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d, Pozirk<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyiv, international organizations and Belarusian opposition figures accuse Minsk of involvement in transfers of Ukrainian children to Belarus in violation of international law. Belarusian diplomats have launched a counterpropaganda campaign, saying that the children are brought with parents\u2019 consent to recuperate in peace.<\/em><\/strong>

On September 22, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuriy Ambrazevich told foreign diplomats that Ukrainian children were legally brought to Belarus “for rehabilitation.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The briefing came two weeks after the foreign ministry organized a trip for diplomats from China, Cuba, India, Qatar, Mongolia, Palestine, Russia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe to a health resort in Navapo\u0142ack to show children transferred from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the trip, the foreign office issued a statement criticizing European diplomats for failure to join it. The refusal “only confirms the politically motivated and unfounded nature of rumors, speculations and accusations about the forced stay or transportation of children to Belarus, as well as the lack of slightest willingness to deal with the situation objectively.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clouds gathering over Minsk <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Children from occupied territories of Ukraine have been brought to Belarus since 2016. Why has the foreign ministry suddenly become so desperate and launched a campaign to convince the international community of Minsk’s noble intentions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer is obvious. After the Russian invasion, Ukraine and some other countries have condemned the transfers as a crime. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, on suspicion that the Ukrainian children have been abducted and deported illegally. Putin is now afraid to travel abroad for fear of arrest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clouds are also gathering over Minsk. The main organizer of the transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus, Alaksiej Ta\u0142aj, said that he was doing it on the orders from Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian ruler does not hide his role. On August 11, he said, “The children are not guilty. We agreed with Putin that we will finance these trips from the Union budget. We have done so and will continue to do so, regardless of any accusations.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Belarus clearly involved, international organizations have proposed holding the country’s political leaders accountable. On April 27, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution describing \u201cthe forced deportation\u201d of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide, and \u0141uka\u0161enka and the Belarusian government as accomplices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 4, the OSCE Moscow Mechanism submitted a report describing the transfers of children from Ukraine, including to the territory of Belarus, as a war crime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 13, the European Parliament adopted a resolution, urging the ICC to consider issuing an arrest warrant against \u0141uka\u0161enka for the forced deportation of children from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka does not want to be arrested <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka has repeatedly said that Belarus has received a large number of Ukrainian refugees since 2014. According to him, Belarus granted Ukrainians the same rights as Belarusians. He casts himself as a great friend of the Ukrainian people and defends the transfers of children as a humanitarian mission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyiv says that the children were taken from the occupied territories without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities. The annexation of these territories by Russia has not been recognized by the international community. Therefore, Kyiv describes the transfers as deportation, a violation of international law and an act of violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It argues that children are brainwashed at Belarusian camps in the spirit of hatred towards Ukraine and loyalty to Russia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some may say that resolutions by international organizations have no effect on \u0141uka\u0161enka. Moreover, the ICC has not yet responded to the appeals. Minsk ignores criticism and continues to bring Ukrainian children to Belarus. About fifty more children arrived in Minsk recently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the European Parliament’s resolution sends a strong and alarming signal to Minsk. If the ICC issues an arrest warrant, \u0141uka\u0161enka will face the same travel ban as Putin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Russian president has a nuclear arsenal to defend himself, the Belarusian ruler has no such protection. His plane could simply be forced to land during a trip abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any case, the threat of international prosecution, even in theory, would be a worry for \u0141uka\u0161enka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strongman does not want to appear weak <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even if the ICC does not issue an arrest warrant, the campaign against the transfers of Ukrainian children already has direct political implications for \u0141uka\u0161enka. The accusation of war crimes by the European Parliament is a stigma that is likely to undermine and complicate any future negotiations between Minsk and the West. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why the foreign ministry is worried. Officials understand all the negative consequences of this case for Belarus. Perhaps the foreign ministry has already been instructed to counter all the accusations from international organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka would not put the programs for Ukrainian children on halt because this would be a manifestation of his weakness. He acts as if he is not afraid of the ICC arrest warrant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d, Pozirk Kyiv, international organizations and Belarusian opposition figures accuse Minsk of involvement in transfers of Ukrainian children to Belarus in violation of international law. Belarusian diplomats have launched a counterpropaganda campaign, saying that the children are brought with parents\u2019 consent to recuperate in peace. On September 22, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuriy Ambrazevich told […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":4161,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-5839","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFearing sanctions, Minsk attempts to justify transfers of Ukrainian children | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d, Pozirk Kyiv, international organizations and Belarusian opposition figures accuse Minsk of involvement in transfers of Ukrainian\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/5839\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fearing sanctions, Minsk attempts to justify transfers of 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