Russia, with the assistance of Qatari mediators, has facilitated the return of three Ukrainian children and one young man with a disability to their families, commented Maria Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for children’s rights in the Kremlin, on Thursday.

According to Lvova-Belova, the returnees include two boys aged 8 and 15, as well as a 6-year-old girl who had been residing with relatives in Russia. “The boys’ mothers are eagerly awaiting their return in Ukraine. The girl has been staying with her great-aunt following her mother’s death, while her father remains in Ukraine,” she shared on Telegram.

Additionally, she mentioned that a young man with disabilities was also brought back.

Lvova-Belova shared a photo from the Qatari Embassy in Moscow, featuring the children with their guardians and a man in a wheelchair, although all faces were obscured except for a Qatari diplomat and an unidentified woman.

She noted that to date, 26 children from 18 families have been reunited with relatives in Russia, while 115 others have returned to Ukraine or elsewhere.

Kyiv has refuted Moscow’s characterization of the returns as “child exchanges,” asserting that Ukraine has not engaged in the abduction of Russian children since the onset of the conflict.

Since the middle of 2023, Qatar has played a crucial role in mediating the return of numerous Ukrainian children who had been taken to Russia and its occupied territories.

Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for the alleged illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, an act that prosecutors categorize as a war crime. Russia, which does not acknowledge the ICC’s authority, has dismissed these allegations.

Ukraine claims that over 19,000 children have been deported by Moscow since the commencement of the full-scale invasion, a statement that Russia denies.