Six Ukrainian children return to their homeland from Russia
TASSDec 05, 2023
The Facts
Russia announced Tuesday that an additional six Ukrainian children — among the thousands Kyiv alleges have been forcibly displaced and trapped in Russia or Russian-occupied territories — are en route to Ukraine via Belarus following a Qatar-mediated agreement.
In October, four children were returned to Ukraine under a deal brokered by Qatar, negotiations of which began when Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani visited the warring countries over the summer.
The Spin
Pro-Russia narrative
Though Ukraine may paint it differently, this entire saga has resulted from Russia first rescuing children from a war zone and subsequently returning them to Ukraine when appropriate. Furthermore, children from both sides of the border have been trapped on either side of this conflict — negotiations have focused on safely relocating Russian and Ukrainian minors to their respective home countries.
Pro-Ukraine narrative
Putin's exploitation of children during war is a tale as old as the Soviet Union. Ukrainian children are being unlawfully detained in institutions of propaganda and neglect, after which they are returned home with their minds warped. This not only tortures the children, but their families too. These abductions are a clear case of illegal psychological warfare.
Nerd narrative
There's a 0.2% chance that Ukraine will have de facto control of at least 90% of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts on Jan. 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.