People’s MEP Michaela Šojdrová wants to increase the pressure on Russia to return the children it illegally took from the invaded Ukraine. According to estimates, there are at least 20 thousand of them. At the same time, he is discussing the creation of camps for Ukrainian children in the Czech Republic and other EU countries. “It is necessary to continue helping Ukraine, even though the popularity of those who do not want to help is growing in the Czech Republic. Such an attitude is dangerous,” he warns.
Michaela Šojdrová is one of the politicians who visited Ukraine in recent days. Unlike some others, it focused exclusively on social assistance and, above all, on assistance with the return of children who were deported from Ukraine by Russia. According to Ukrainian data, 19,400 children were taken away, and 364 have so far been returned.
It was precisely because of the forcible removal of Ukrainian children that the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague recently issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvovova-Belovova.
“The structure of Ukrainian deported children is very diverse, but they have one thing in common – they are all citizens of Ukraine. In any case, their removal was illegal, whether they had parents, have parents, or had legal guardians. This forced adoption is a crime. It was clear since Putin issued decrees on accelerated adoption of children,” says Šojdrová. During the six-day trip, she met, among other things, two such children and the director of their school, who went to Russia for them and brought them back.
“This is, for example, the case of some children from Ukrainian orphanages whose parents were deprived of parental rights, or they are orphans. But those children had legal guardians and no one asked them if they wanted to be adopted. They were invited to camps and no one told them, that they will stay in Russia. It was a clear fraud and they stayed in Russia by force,” points out Šojdrová.
Many children also got to Russia because the Russians, after occupying Ukrainian territories, brought buses and took Ukrainians, including children, with them. “Some were without parents because, for example, they perished, but they have grandmothers, for example. Their removal from eastern Ukraine was illegal. Likewise, the Russians took some children who were trying to get to the west of Ukraine through humanitarian corridors,” says Shojdrová, who worked with a Ukrainian non-profit organization Media Initiative for Human Rights. She helped with the return of approximately a hundred children to Ukrainian families.
Michaela Šojdrová after returning from Ukraine, where she discussed Czech social aid to Ukraine. | Photo: Aktuálně.cz
She drew attention to the problem with taking away children in the European Parliament already in June of last year, when she started to get involved in this matter. “Among other things, it is necessary to deal even more intensively with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which does not use the opportunity to visit all Russian centers and camps where Ukrainian children are deported,” said the MEP, who cooperates, for example, with the Ukrainian platform Magnolia. It deals with the search for lost children and is connected to the European organization for missing children Missing Children Europe.
The European Commission, together with Poland, is now preparing a conference with the participation of representatives of international institutions that can put pressure on Russia to end deportations and to allow the return of children. “It’s all happening on the basis of diplomatic ties and political pressure,” said European Commissioner Věra Jourová.
Ukrainians only take victory, says Shojdrová
MEP Šojdrová also held talks with representatives of several cities and non-profit organizations about further assistance from the Czech Republic to social facilities, children’s homes and schools. “Ukrainians are really very grateful for all the help. They will also be happy to establish a partnership between cities, I heard such a request, for example, from the mayor of Lviv. He also asked me to provide financial support for the construction of a large medical facility for war veterans from all over Ukraine,” she points out.
According to her, the most important thing is defeating the aggressor. “I did not deal with the supply of weapons there, that is not within my competence, but I am convinced that we also need to deal with weapons, ammunition and tanks. The sooner the war ends, the sooner Ukrainian children will have a normal life again,” says Šojdrová, who, according to her words met overwhelmingly with the Ukrainians’ determination to win.
“Victory is the most important thing for them. We were, for example, in a fresh cemetery where Ukrainians who died defending the country are buried. I met mothers and wives of dead soldiers who cried, but did not say: Enough. They knew that the sacrifices that brought, they will only make sense if Ukraine wins. Otherwise, the thousands of dead were unnecessary. We should know that. We are used to living in a certain comfort and safety,” she said to people in the Czech Republic.
Kateřina Biolková, who is in charge of coordinating aid to the attacked country at the Olomouc Archdiocese Charity, also went to Ukraine with the MEP. “Ukrainians are very important to our charity. We have been helping them for many years and we often see how grateful they are for any help. We are also trying to develop the non-profit sector there, which does not have an easy time,” said Biolková. For example, the charity has already taken many generators and several trucks of other aid to Ukraine.
Video: Ukrainians know that their sacrifices will only be meaningful if they win, says Shojdrová (May 2, 2023)
After returning from Ukraine, MEP Michaela Šojdrová answered, among other things, a question from Aktuálně.cz about how she perceives the reservations of some Czechs about helping Ukraine. | Video: Radek Bartoníček
