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Ukraine updates: Qatar mediates return of Ukrainian children
Published 4 hours agoPublished 4 hours agolast updated 3 hours agolast updated 3 hours ago
Four Ukrainian minors separated from their families after Russia’s invasion will be reunited with relatives, after Qatari mediation. Follow DW for more.
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A Ukrainian boy stands with his grandmother while interacting with Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova and a Qatari diplomat
A 7-year-old Ukrainian boy, who is the first child released under a new mechanism Qatar has set up with the goal of repatriating children from Russia to Ukraine, stands with his grandmotherImage: Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs/REUTERS
Skip next section What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Four Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine are to be reunited with relatives following a successful mediation effort by Qatar, officials said on Monday.
The children, aged between two and 17, have been staying at the Qatari embassy in Moscow while Doha mediated between Russian and Ukrainian authorities, a diplomat briefed on the process said.
They include one child whose mother has been detained in Russia, and another who lost contact with his mother as he was in a Russian hospital when the war broke out.
Moscow has been accused of bringing thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia from Moscow-occupied territories.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria-Lvova Belova over the alleged illegal deportations.
Here’s a look at the latest on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for Monday, October 16:
Skip next section Putin repeats praise for China’s peace proposals before trip to Beijing
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Putin repeats praise for China’s peace proposals before trip to Beijing
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that China’s proposal for peace talks with Ukraine could become a realistic basis for a peace agreement, according to an interview with Chinese television published by the Kremlin.
However, Putin accused Ukraine of not allowing peace negotiations: “How can you hold negotiations when they don’t want to and, yes, have published a normative document forbidding these negotiations?”
He added that a prerequisite for the start of negotiations was the lifting of the decree and a willingness to talk. Kyiv has repeatedly said that Russian troops would have to withdraw before negotiations could begin.
China’s peace proposal has been met with skepticism in Ukraine and the West because the country is considered an ally of Russia and has never condemned the full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by Moscow in February 2022.
According to the Kremlin, Putin will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, “on the sidelines” of China’s Belt and Road Initiative forum.
It will be Putin’s second known trip abroad, after visiting Kyrgyzstan last week, since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest for alleged war crimes in March. China is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the court in the Dutch city of The Hague and can therefore ignore the arrest warrant when Putin visits.
Xi and Putin’s ‘no limits’ friendship has limits
07:00
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Skip next section Qatar strikes deal to return four Ukrainian children taken to Russia
4 hours ago4 hours ago
Qatar strikes deal to return four Ukrainian children taken to Russia
Four Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine are to be reunited with relatives following the mediation of Qatar, officials said.
The children, aged between two and 17, have been staying at the Qatari embassy in Moscow while Doha mediated between Russian and Ukrainian authorities, a Qatari diplomat said.
“Both Ukrainian and Russian officials have been cooperative in ensuring the safety and security of the children and their departure to Ukraine,” said the diplomat on condition of anonymity.
They include one child whose mother has been detained in Russia, and another who lost contact with his mother as he was in a Russian hospital when the war broke out.
All four are travelling to Ukraine via third countries including Qatar, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
Moscow has been accused of bringing thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia from Moscow-occupied territories.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria-Lvova Belova over the alleged illegal deportations.
ICC warrant over Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children
03:10
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Skip next section Ukraine says OSCE faces ‘slow death’ if Russia remains member
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Ukraine says OSCE faces ‘slow death’ if Russia remains member
Ukraine called for Russia to be excluded from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), warning the body faced a “slow death” if Moscow remained a member.
“Everything Russia does in the OSCE nowadays is killing this organization,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a press conference also attended by OSCE chair Bujar Osmani.
“The situation in the OSCE is very complicated, painful, but the choice is very simple — either a slow death with Russia, or a new life without it,” Kuleba said.
Ukraine has repeatedly called for Russia to be excluded from international organizations over its full-scale invasion, including the G20, UN Security Council and all major sporting bodies.
The OSCE was founded to ease tensions between East and West during the Cold War, and helps its members coordinate on issues like human rights and arms control.
Russia has itself repeatedly accused the West of trying to undermine and “seize” the OSCE, arguing the group has turned away from its founding principles.
The organization sends observers to conflicts, as well as elections around the world. It also runs programmes that aim to combat human trafficking and ensure media freedom.
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Skip next section Russia’s assault on Avdiivka is weakening, Ukraine says
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Russia’s assault on Avdiivka is weakening, Ukraine says
Russian forces’ attempt to storm a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine appears to be running out of steam, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine entered its 600th day.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces had repelled 15 Russian attacks from four directions on Avdiivka in the past 24 hours, compared to 60 attacks a day in the middle of last week, according to Avdiivka’s head of city administration Vitalii Barabash. The slowing suggests the Russian effort to capture Avdiivka has “deflated,” Barabash said.
Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of the city of Donetsk, in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy. Avdiivka’s location grants Ukrainian forces artillery advantages over the city and could serve as a springboard for them to liberate Donetsk.
dh/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
