Russia Announces Deal On Exchange Of Children With Ukraine

Qatar's ambassador to Russia (center) and the head of Russian president's Office of the Commissioner for Children's Rights meet with Ukrainian children and family members before their departure to Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar at its embassy in Moscow in December 2023.

Russia's children's rights commissioner on April 24 announced a deal with Ukraine to exchange almost 50 children displaced by Moscow's invasion, but a Ukrainian official declined to confirm the agreement. Maria Lvova-Belova announced that 29 children are due to go to Ukraine and 19 to Russia. Lvova-Belova said the agreement was reached in "talks with the Ukrainian side" in Doha. But as Russian and Ukrainian officials met with Qatari mediators, the Ukrainian human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, told AFP he "can't confirm the information." The Ukrainian official added that the two countries "don't have any direct communication on this case."