Ukraine and allies plan a peace summit. Russia has killed at least 483 children, Zelenskyi said, addressing a children\u2019s rights conference in Kyiv ahead of the International Children\u2019s Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifteen months into the war, Russia has killed at least 483 Ukrainian children and maimed almost a thousand more, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said, addressing the conference \u201cUA: War. Broken Lullaby\u201d ahead of the International Children\u2019s Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President quoted a diary of an eight-year-old boy, Yehor, from the besieged city of Mariupol that begins like this: \u201cWAR. I slept well, woke up and smiled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe live in a time when this is happiness for children. When there are air raid sirens every night, and just sleeping is happiness, it is valuable. When there are missile attacks every night, and waking up in the morning is truly priceless,\u201d Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He offered other quotes from Yehor\u2019s diary: \u201cI have a wound on my back, the skin is torn off. My sister has a head wound. My mom has meat torn out of her arm and a wound on her leg.\u201d The boy also wrote: \u201cMy grandmother Galya, two dogs, and my favorite city of Mariupol died.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia violates children\u2019s rights as it ruins the lives of the Ukrainians, Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis has been going on for 15 months. For 15 months, Russian aggression and terror have been destroying not just buildings, but fundamental human rights \u2014 the fundamental rights of our children. The right to a safe environment, the right to education, the right to development, the right to health care, the right to rest, leisure, and, most importantly, the inalienable and most important right of a child to life. The right that Russia has taken away from at least 483 Ukrainian children, and these are just the fates we know for sure,\u201d the Ukrainian President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne should always call a spade a spade \u2014 and I am a supporter of this \u2014 not with certain official formulations, which, in my personal opinion, distort the truth, blur the essence and soften the horror of all that Russia has been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRussia killed \u2014 this is the wording I will use \u2014 Russia killed at least 483 children. It did kill them. It would be untrue to say: \u2018they fell victims to Russian aggression\u2019 or \u2018they were killed as a result of an armed conflict\u2019. No, Russia killed these children. Russia maimed almost a thousand more. There is no way to say: \u2018they were injured as a result of hostilities\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia has deliberately destroyed millions of homes. It would be untrue to say: \u201cthey lost their homes because of the hostilities,\u201d Zelenskyi said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot of Ukrainian cities and villages have been wiped off the earth. These are entire blocks, streets, and houses. Russia has buried \u201cchildren\u2019s rights\u201d under the rubble, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia has launched missile strikes on maternity hospitals in Mariupol and Kherson, destroyed more than a thousand kindergartens, nearly 1,300 schools, more than a thousand healthcare facilities, orphanages, rehabilitation centers, children\u2019s libraries and sports schools across Ukraine, Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThousands and thousands of children were kidnapped, cut off from their lives, separated from their families and illegally deported to Russia. We still don\u2019t know the exact number of these children, but we know that we have to return them all. We know that we must restore the rights and security for all Ukrainian children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only \u201ca just victory\u201d, full deoccupation of Ukraine\u2019s territories, and lasting security will restore and enforce the rights of children, Zelenskyi told the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine has been defending the free world and the rights of every child for nine years and 462 days, standing against Russia\u2019s onslaught, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince February 24, Children\u2019s Day is every day for us. All 462 days of the full-scale war, 462 days of our battle, first of all, for our future, our children, their freedom, their life. [We fight] for Ukraine that we will leave to them, for Europe that we will build together, and for the world in which they will live freely. Today we are fighting for what this world will look like,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine and its allies are planning a summit of global leaders that would exclude Russia, aimed at garnering support for Kyiv\u2019s terms for ending the war, The Wall Street Journal said, quoting a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser and European diplomats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plans for a gathering, while preliminary, have strong support from European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron who are lobbying for participation by countries that have sided with Russia or declined to take a position on the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Western diplomats hope that the meeting can take place shortly before NATO\u2019s annual summit that starts in Vilnius on July 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s chief of staff, told The Wall Street Journal that direct negotiations with Russia weren\u2019t possible as long as its troops remain in the country. Ukraine won\u2019t compromise on its territorial integrity, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe require a unified plan of the responsible civilized world that really wants to live in peace,\u201d Yermak added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European officials say they are working with Kyiv to recraft Ukraine\u2019s 10-point peace plan in ways that will make it more acceptable to other global powers such as India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Volodymyr Zelenskyi first laid out a 10-point peace plan at the G20 summit in November 2022. The plan calls for restoring Ukraine\u2019s territorial integrity, withdrawal of Russian forces, release of all prisoners, creating a special tribunal to prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing the European Council in March, Zelenskyi called for a peace summit to be hosted in a European capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n