Russian charged with war crimes says Ukrainian children can go home

Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, who is being sought for war crimes for deporting children from Ukraine, has told a UN meeting they were taken for their safety and Moscow is coordinating with international organisations to return them to their families.

Ambassadors from Western countries boycotted the informal UN Security Council meeting, sending low-level diplomats instead.