Foreign correspondents' club in Seoul voices concern over Russia's detention of Japanese journalist

As of November, a staggering 20,500 Ukrainian children had been illegally deported to Russia, according to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas during a speech to the European Parliament. Kallas emphasized that 2,790 of these children had been returned home, highlighting the ongoing struggle to preserve the national identity of these children in Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories.

The EU's top diplomat stressed that an OSCE report thoroughly documented a calculated and systematic Russian campaign aimed at eradicating the cultural identity of these children. Moreover, Russia has set up a network of illegal adoption agencies for abducted children, further compounding the crisis. The European Union has responded with sanctions against individuals and organizations involved in these atrocities, including the detention camps in Russia and North Korea, where some of the deported Ukrainian children were discovered.

These sanctions pressure Russia and its accomplices, and the EU has also provided nearly EUR 30 million in humanitarian aid to support Ukrainian children affected by this illegal deportation.