Return of Russian-abducted Ukrainian children must be linchpin in US peace talks -- [Opinion]
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Imagine being a child watching in terror as your country is invaded, seeing bombs obliterate your town and wondering if your father fighting on the frontlines is even still alive. Then imagine being kidnapped by that invading army, taken to a hostile country where you are not allowed to speak your own language and told every day that your parents have abandoned you(Open Link in new window) and your country soon will be wiped off the map.
For the approximately 20,000 Ukrainian children(Open Link in new window) kidnapped by Russian forces, this nightmare is their reality. As the United States continues talks with Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine, negotiators must prioritize the return of these innocent lives.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, a famous Ukrainian human rights lawyer and winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, asserts(Open Link in new window) that reprogramming children to “reject their native language and culture is a genocidal tactic aimed at erasing a people by destroying its future.” And that is exactly what Russia is attempting to do by sending the kidnapped Ukrainian children to “re-education” camps, where Russian operatives attempt to brainwash the children into forgetting or giving up their Ukrainian roots.
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