“Russia is forcing 20,000 kidnapped Ukrainian children to learn Russian and sing the Russian national anthem. They brainwash children with the lie that “Ukraine does not exist, and nobody needs you in Ukraine.” They are working to raise Ukrainian children into soldiers who will attack their native land, Europe, and the civilized world.”
“During the trip to Korea, Olena Tregub, Viktoriya Voytsytska, Daria Kaleniuk, and Andriy Martynovych wore “not to be forgotten” badges on their chests. A badge in the shape of a forget-me-not flower, which means “forget me not,” created to remember the abductees and detainees in North Korea and their families. This is a sign of solidarity between South Korea and Ukraine to share the pain of the two countries and help each other.”
Daria Kaleniuk, the founder of the ICUV organization, noted: “Just as the Koreans are putting a lot of effort into rescuing prisoners held in North Korea, rescuing kidnapped children and prisoners in Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, is also a top priority.”
They explained in detail Russia’s atrocities behind missile attacks and drone strikes. Russia, which occupied about 20% of the territory of Ukraine, has been forcibly resettling Ukrainian children kidnapped during the war to Russia since February 2022, when the invasion began. They are trying to Russianize the selected children, to destroy Ukrainian culture and language, and ultimately, to destroy the Ukrainian national identity itself.
The international community also considered this act as a war crime. Last March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his associates on charges of illegal emigration of Ukrainian children.
When President Yoon Seok-yeol visited Ukraine last July and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, he visited the Child Rights Protection Center at the National Children’s Hospital, which treats children who were taken to Russia and returned via third countries and expressed concern about rights violations children in Russia.
Viktoria Wojcitschka, director of ICUV, said: “In addition to forcibly displaced children, Russia currently holds 8,000 prisoners of war,” adding: “Electrical torture and rape are common there, and torture such as the deliberate starvation of prisoners is common practice, – said Victoria.
Andrii Martynovych, former colonel and deputy chief of the Main Department of Military Cooperation and Peacekeeping Operations of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said: “Just as South Korea will always live with the threat of North Korea, even if the war ends, Ukraine will have to withstand the threat of Russia on its border.” He said: “I hope people will pay more attention to the Ukrainian prisoners who are suffering just like the Koreans who are being held in North Korea.”
They also offered our government to resolve the visa issue for Ukrainians to visit Korea as a symbolic gesture of support for Ukraine’s democratic ally. He noted that although Koreans can visit Ukraine without a visa for 90 days, Ukrainians must obtain a visa when visiting Korea.
Olena Tregub, executive director of NAKO, said: “Ukrainians can travel freely to Europe without visas, and there are refugees in the countries of the European Union (EU); there is a special support program, so there is no reason to come to Korea to escape the war” –
“It is unfair that Russians, who are also fighting, can enter Korea without a visa, while Ukrainians have to go through complicated procedures to get a visa to Korea,” Olena stressed.