Speaking at the "Stolen Childhood" conference in Kyiv, Skrypnyk detailed the dire circumstances these children face: immediate threats from ongoing shelling and a future of being coerced into the ranks of the Russian army.
"We must stop this," she urged, highlighting the need to protect these vulnerable young lives from becoming fodder in a war of aggression that has already claimed many.
Skrypnyk accused Russia of committing international crimes against children, including propaganda to recruit them into military service, a violation of the Geneva Convention.
The Russian state, she asserts, has no right to engage in such practices among children in the occupied territories.
The United Nations has reported that since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, approximately 2.8 million Ukrainians have been deported, with estimates suggesting that 200,000 to 300,000 of these are children.
Some Russian sources have claimed an even higher number, up to 700,000, having been "liberated."
These children, forcibly taken to Russia or Belarus, are subjected to ideological indoctrination, with the Kremlin using the education system to justify its invasion and recruiting minors into paramilitary youth organizations such as Junarmia.
These organizations, reminiscent of 20th-century paramilitary groups, train members in military tactics and indoctrinate them with "patriotic history."
Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has become a testing ground for criminal practices including deportations, militarization, abductions and political persecution.
Skrypnyk reported that children in occupied territories are exposed to militarization from a young age, including in preschools, and subsequently in schools, and summer camps, with involvement from Russian political parties, Junarmia, and the Russian ministries of education, science, youth, sports and defense.
This is part of a broader strategy to destroy Ukrainian identity among the youth and assimilate them to address Russia's deepening demographic crisis, while simultaneously preparing them as a future mobilization reserve for the Russian army.
Russia's death rate has exceeded its birth rate from 1992 to 2012, and again since 2016. The war in Ukraine has so far cost Russia around 430,000 casualties, according to some estimates.
This alarming situation underscores the need for international action to protect these children and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable.
Skrypnyk said: "Wherever we are, we must always speak out about why we need weapons. Without them, we cannot protect our children."
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP