Russia’s transfer of Ukrainian children to areas under its control in Ukraine, as well as on Russian territory, constitutes a “war crime”, the UN Special Commission on Ukraine said today, also highlighting possible crimes against humanity.

However, the head of this Commission stated that no evidence of genocide would have been found. “We found no evidence that genocide was committed inside Ukraine,” Eric Mose, head of the Commission, told reporters. He added that the Commission is examining evidence and that there are “some aspects that may raise questions” about possible genocide.

It is recalled that on Monday, a source told Reuters that an ICC prosecutor is expected to seek a judge’s approval to issue arrest warrants against several Russians in connection with the abduction of children from Ukraine and their transfer to Russia, as well as the targeting of political infrastructure.

In its first report since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the UN Commission of Inquiry concludes that “the situations it examined regarding the transportation and displacement of children, within Ukraine and the Russian Federation respectively, violate the international humanitarian law and constitute a war crime”.

According to Kyiv, 16,221 children were deported to Russia by the end of February, but the Commission was unable to verify these figures.

According to her, however, Russian officials have taken legal and political measures regarding the transfer of children from Ukraine and that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in May 2022 making it easier to grant Russian citizenship to some children.

Torture and illegal detention

Investigators also accuse Moscow of possible “crimes against humanity.”

“The Commission found that the waves of attacks carried out by the Russian armed forces, starting on October 10, 2022, against Ukrainian energy infrastructure and the use of torture by the Russian authorities could constitute crimes against humanity,” they emphasize, proposing the conducting further investigations.

In particular, the Commission established “a pattern of widespread illegal detention” in areas controlled by the Russian armed forces, targeting many people, including women and children.

Certain categories of people held in these “specialized facilities” in Ukraine and Russia are, according to researchers, systematically tortured.

One former prisoner, the Commission continues, was beaten as “punishment for speaking Ukrainian” and for “not remembering the lyrics of the Russian Federation anthem”.

This type of torture “may constitute a crime against humanity and should be investigated further,” the researchers said in their statement.