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In New York, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys, attended the high-level event ‘Ensuring Accountability for Ukraine’, held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. Representatives of the international community discussed ways to ensure accountability for Russia’s crimes of aggression against Ukraine.

For the fifth time, the event focused on Russia's policy of deportation, militarisation and ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children, as well as international mechanisms capable of ensuring accountability for these crimes.

In his speech, Budrys strongly condemned Russia's actions in the occupied territories of Ukraine and stressed that the international community must take all possible measures to protect Ukrainian children and protect their rights.

“Russia has continued its war of aggression against Ukraine for more than four years. Among the most vulnerable victims of this war are children. Thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly displaced to Russia and Belarus. We consider their return as an urgent humanitarian priority," the Minister said.

Budrys pointed out that in the occupied territories, Russia systematically seeks to destroy the identity of Ukrainian children by including them in propaganda educational programs and militarization activities. The Minister stressed that international law prohibits the indoctrination and militarization of children. According to Budrys, the conclusions of the OSCE Moscow mechanism clearly show that the systematic indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children can be considered a crime against humanity.

The head of Lithuania's diplomacy called on states to step up their support for international accountability mechanisms, including the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and the upcoming International Claims Commission.

“We need to use all the tools at our disposal. The Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, the International Criminal Court and other accountability mechanisms must be fully operational as soon as possible. Responsibility for the crime of aggression is a shared commitment of the international community," said Budrys.