Yermak–Kellogg meeting: What it means for Ukraine's future

On Wednesday, July 16, the head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, met with U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg. They visited the Child Rights Protection Center as part of the President's Bring Kids Back UA initiative.

Yermak wrote about it on Telegram.

Yermak-Kellogg meeting

Along with Yermak and Kellogg, the Center was visited by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, Presidential Advisor on Children's Rights Daria Herasymchuk, and Co-Chair of the Bring Kids Back UA High-Level International Expert Group Lady Helena Kennedy.

"We discussed massive human rights violations by the Russian Federation — the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, the detention of civilians in occupied territories and in Russia," the head of the Office of the President noted.

Yermak emphasized that Ukrainian children cannot be used as bargaining chips. Therefore, on June 2, Ukraine officially submitted to Russia an initial list of children and a request for their return. Currently, Ukraine is still awaiting a response from Russia.

In total, there are more than 16,000 known cases of illegal detention, of which at least 1,800 are on Russian territory. As a result of the Russian invasion, about 900 children have been killed and more than 2,000 have been injured.

In addition, at least 19 cases of violence against children have been recorded.

As a reminder, Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv on an official visit on Monday. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that during the US envoy's stay in the capital, Russia reduced its shelling of Ukraine.