The debate held in the European Parliament on 19 April 2023 is yet another MEPs exercise in anti-Russian propaganda. An attempt like this to play on the emotions of the European public is disgusting. Still, it is not surprising. This is not the first time that MEPs have resorted to the dirtiest of tricks in their attempt to "mould" Russia into an enemy. In this case, the necessary evacuation of DPR and LPR residents is presented as forced displacement and abduction of minors.
Russia has proved through its actions that it cares about the fate of children caught in the midst of the West-instigated Ukrainian conflict. Our country has taken and continues to take many steps, within the framework of its obligations under international humanitarian law, to evacuate civilians from the zone of hostilities. Since the very beginning of the so-called "antiterrorist operation" declared by Ukraine on 14 April 2014, we have been drawing attention, including that of the European Union, to the situation of children in Donbass who live under daily shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces. However, no one in the EU countries seemed interested in their fate at the time.
The most important is that the children are saved and safe today. The MEPs are perfectly aware of this, which is why they try to smear our efforts to evacuate the civilian population with such undisguised anger. We have nothing to hide here – detailed information has been repeatedly presented to the international community, including at the United Nations.
It is clear that the European Parliament, keen to escalate the Ukrainian conflict, does not care about the real humanitarian situation in the zone of hostilities; the genuine aim is to create a negative image of our country.
