Russia's 'Child's Iskander' toy and contentious deportations: Fueling militarism in youth?
- Yes, friends. This is a missile system toy for children - a man explains in the video, illustrating how the toy operates. The "Child's Iskander" is also equipped with a feature that allows it to launch soft projectiles. The toy can reach up to 5 km/h and is marketed towards children aged 2 to 6 years, according to the seller.
"This is exactly the mentality that Russia instills in children from the start. It's genuinely concerning," voiced Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, as he commented on the video.
Widespread deportation of Ukrainian children
In January, the United Nations Child Rights Committee, composed of 18 independent experts, sought clarification from Russia regarding allegations of Ukrainian child deportations. Their report requested that Moscow urgently reveal the precise count of children displaced from Ukraine and their current location.
The Committee also emphasized Russia's responsibility to protect any Ukrainian child from losing their original citizenship and to ensure their surname, first name, and information about their origins is preserved.
Erasing children's identity
Ann Skelton, Chairwoman of the Committee, stated that discussions took place last month in Geneva between the UN Commission and the Russian delegation regarding Ukrainian children. She noted that both parties were speaking at cross purposes.
- Throughout our conversation, we observed that our terminologies did not match - Skelton commented - We used the term "adoption", whilst they dismissed the concept of adoption and referred to it as "raising children".
According to Skelton, the Russian delegation conceded that numerous Ukrainian children were granted Russian citizenship, implying these children were stripped of their original identities and assigned a Russian one.
Majority of children deported to Russia
The Ukrainian government estimates that close to 20,000 children have been relocated from Ukraine to Russia without the permission of their families or custodians. Furthermore, the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has previously disclosed that Russia transferred "at least hundreds" of children from orphanages and care homes located in the occupied territories of Ukraine, many of whom were adopted. The Kremlin dismissed these accusations as "sensational and unacceptable".
On 17 March 2023, Greenwich Time, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Child Rights Commissioner, Maria Lvovna-Belyova. The judges concurred with the prosecution's evidence, concluding there is substantial reason to believe that Putin is culpable of war crimes related to the unlawful displacement of children from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
