Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has welcomed the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) report on forcible deportation of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to other occupied territories and to the Russian Federation.

Kuleba welcomed the OSCE's report investigating the deportation of children from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. The report was initiated by 45 OSCE participating states as part of the Moscow Mechanism.

"The report’s conclusions are powerful: Russia’s actions are identified as war crimes and crimes against humanity. I insist on the fact that Russia must bring back our children who have been abducted and be held responsible for its actions," Kuleba said.

I welcome the OSCE's report on Russia's forcible transfer of Ukrainian children under the Moscow Mechanism. Its findings are strong: Russia’s actions are called war crimes and crimes against humanity. I insist that Russia must return our stolen children and be held accountable.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 4, 2023

The OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism allows OSCE member-states to send expert missions to assist in the resolution of a particular question or problem relating to the human dimension of the OSCE.

The Moscow Mechanism was last invoked in relation to the Russian Federation on 28 July 2022.

The OSCE’s previous report has uncovered numerous violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other atrocities the Russian Federation and its armed forces have committed during the ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on 17 March 2023, in view of his responsibility for the illegal deportation of thousands of children from Ukraine.