On Thursday, the National Police of Ukraine announced the release of a smartphone application designed to aid in the search for children who have gone missing over the more than 13 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
According to estimates from Kyiv, 19,544 children were sent to Russia during the invasion, and just 328 have since returned. Russia, which now controls large swaths of eastern and southern Ukraine, has denied kidnapping children and instead said they were removed for their own protection.
Ukraine has partnered with U.S. tech company Locate My Parent to create an app called “Reunite Ukraine”
According to Oleksander Fatsevych, deputy head of the National Police, Ukraine has partnered with U.S. tech company Locate My Parent to create an app called “Reunite Ukraine” that will help reunite families that were split up during the conflict.
“That is one of the instruments to find children and reconcile them with their families,” he said in an online conference.
Even if we only succeed in locating one child or reuniting one family in this way, it will be a win.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner were issued an arrest order by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last month on charges of kidnapping Ukrainian children.
Moscow has not tried to hide the fact that it has transferred thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia from occupied territories; rather, it portrays the programme as a humanitarian initiative to safeguard orphans and youngsters abandoned in the battle zone.
Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children, stated this week that the country has taken in more than 5 million Ukrainian refugees from the Donbas region since February 2022, including 730,000 children with parents or legal guardians.
Russia has declared the warrant to be null and void, as it does not recognise the ICC’s authority.
According to Fatsevych, the software is both simple and free to use. Many layers of authentication ensure user safety. The police verify user identities and serve as a go-between for all app-based interactions.
According to Fatsevych, the app will allow law enforcement to collect more information in a protected environment, especially from persons in Russia, Belarus, or occupied regions who wish to aid the children of Ukraine.
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