War crimes against children should be investigated under a special article of the Criminal Code - Kondratiuk.

The bill proposes to consider war crimes against children under a separate article of the Criminal Code, said Olena Kondratiuk, deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada.

'We specifically allocate war crimes against children to a separate article. Crimes of deportation, forced displacement, and unjustified delay in repatriation of children during the war are the most cynical crimes that have characteristics of genocide. And this is emphasized by many countries that have joined the international coalition for children's return,' Kondratiuk said.

According to Kondratiuk, the main focus is on the crimes of the Russian Federation, which illegally deported or relocated Ukrainian children and illegally delays their repatriation.

Bill No. 12170 proposes to highlight these crimes in a separate - 448th - article of the Criminal Code, which qualifies illegal relocation and delay of repatriation of Ukrainian children as war crimes.

Kondratiuk reminded that according to the Geneva Convention, deportation and forced displacement of civilian populations are serious violations of international humanitarian law that reach the threshold of war crimes. And unjustified delay in repatriation is a war crime under the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions and the assessment of the UN international commission.

According to investigations by human rights activists, Russian citizens who participate in the adoption of deported or abducted Ukrainian children aim to destroy the national identity of Ukrainians. Kondratiuk believes that criminal punishment of the guilty is an important measure to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.

According to official data, during the invasion of Ukraine, about 20 thousand children were deported or illegally taken out, and their return is happening very slowly.

Kondratiuk hopes that everyone involved in investigating crimes against children will support the changes to the Criminal Code so that the law will be quickly adopted in the Verkhovna Rada.