The first association to alert French public opinion and the government about the deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia, "For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!" submitted a communication to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in December 2022 which contributed to the issuance of arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, his "Commissioner for the Rights of the Child", for acts then described as "war crimes".

His lawyers, Emmanuel Daoud and Gabriel Sebbah, filed a second communication on September 13, 2024, documenting the extent of the crimes committed against Ukrainian minors. It reveals the broad network of complicity, which largely involves the United Russia party, and calls on the ICC to extend its mandates to other high-ranking officials and to reclassify these crimes in order to increase judicial pressure on the Russian authorities.

Introduced by Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the NGO Center for Civil Liberties (2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate), the press conference will present the content of this communication to the ICC and the investigation on which it is based. It will also feature an analysis of United Russia's role within the Russian state apparatus by Galia Ackerman, historian and specialist in the Russian and former Soviet world, and a presentation by Vira Yastrebova, lawyer and head of the Ukrainian NGO Eastern Human Rights Group, on the militarization of Ukrainian children.

It will notably allow us to address the following points:

- The elements of the investigation. Conducted over more than a year by the teams of "For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!" with the support of Russia-Liberties, it is based on the examination of a thousand documents, mainly from the Telegram accounts of the perpetrators of the crimes and from Russian and Western media. This investigation establishes the planned and systematic nature of the process of deportation and forced adoption of Ukrainian minors in Russia, and the genocidal intent of those responsible.

- The nature of the organization established by the United Russia party, which is based on:

• Planning at its headquarters by a "humanitarian HQ" in conjunction with the presidential administration and government ministries

• Coordination and relay in occupied territories by "humanitarian missions", led by its parliamentarians and composed of members of its party youth organizations, in liaison with the occupation administration and the armed forces

• The relay in the Russian Federation by the governors, their administration and the party

• Monitoring by Duma committees, the presidential administration and the “Special Military Operation Working Group” which directly informs Putin.

- The genocidal intent to eradicate the Ukrainian identity of miners in the occupied territories. This concerns approximately one million Ukrainian miners, the vast majority of whom could not escape occupation or transfer to the Russian Federation.

- The role of United Russia within the Russian state apparatus.

- The evolving situation in the occupied territories and the militarization of Ukrainian children.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Presented by Bertrand Lambolez, coordinator of the dossier for the association For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!

When: Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 1:30 PM. Duration: 2 hours

• Following the conference, interviews with the speakers will be possible: lawyers from the Vigo firm, representatives from "For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!" and "Russia-Freedoms," Galia Ackerman, and Vira Yastrebova. Journalists wishing to participate should contact us in advance so that we can schedule appointments. We would appreciate it if you could inform us as soon as possible of your participation in the conference and your interview request by responding to this invitation using the contact information below:

contact.presse@pourlukraine.com