The First Lady Of Ukraine U.N. Desak UN Forms Of Special Courts For Russia's Aggression Crimes

Olena Zelenska while accompanying President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Wikimedia Commons/Presidentt.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United Nations to form a special court for Russia's aggression crimes on Wednesday.

"I ask you to create a legal front for justice," Zelenska told UN diplomats in a video speech.

"This is necessary to save the next generation from this war culture and reaffirm the beliefs and basic human rights," he continued.

He conveyed this in a high-level dialogue entitled 'Gross Human Rights Violations due to Russia's Agreement against Ukraine'.

"We have the right to free life not to be killed or tortured; the right not to be shattered into pieces by Russian missiles," he explained.

Furthermore, on that occasion Zelenska shared photos of 16,000 Ukrainian children who were kidnapped and deported to Russia. Many of them were sent to live with foreigners across the country.

"From what we know, they have been given to Russian families and are trying to erase memories of their origins," Zelenska said.

Ukrainian authorities continue to accuse Russia of kidnapping children during the war.

Meanwhile, Russia, which has repeatedly denied its troops committed war crimes, said the alleged kidnapping was "voluntary evacuation" of children.

Separately, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, voiced concern for Zelenska and accused Russian forces of committing "crime against humanity in Ukraine".

"This is not a decision we made easily. But in this case, there is a lot of evidence," explained Thomas-Greenfield.

A recent study from the Yale School of Public Health estimates that at least 6,000 Ukrainian children, aged between four months and 17 years, were detained in "reeducation" camps in Moscow-occupied Crimea and mainland Russia last year.

The report identified 43 detention centers involved in the detention of children from Ukraine, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The Independent International Investigation Commission for Ukraine, formed by the Human Rights Council in March last year, and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented various other atrocities and abuses committed by Russian forces, the Thomas-Greenfield said.

US President Joe Biden, who made a surprise visit to Kyiv earlier this week, said Ukraine's sacrifice was too great.

"The costs that Ukraine has to pay are very high. The sacrifices are too big," said President Biden.