Day 682 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Putin Grants Russian Citizenship To Kidnapped Ukrainian Children

Day 682 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• A military airport in occupied Crimea was hit
• Russia says it has shot down missiles and drones over Crimea and the Black Sea
• "The next step after obtaining Russian 'citizenship' will be to adopt the children as Russians”
• Erdogan and Zelensky held a telephone conversation

A military airport in occupied Crimea was hit

A military airport in occupied Crimea was hit. Missiles and drones have been intercepted in the Black Sea region, the Russian Ministry of Defense claims.

Kyiv has confirmed that missiles supplied by North Korea were used in the latest Russian attacks, information that Washington spread. Moscow and Pyongyang deny having made arms deals, but over the past year their military relations have deepened, experts say.

The European Commission is working on options to provide financial aid to Kyiv that do not require the unanimous consent of EU member states. The reason is that at the end of last year, Hungary vetoed the decision by which Ukraine was supposed to receive 50 billion euros.

Russia says it has shot down missiles and drones over Crimea and the Black Sea

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that yesterday evening and today, Russian air defense forces shot down drones and missiles over Crimea and the western part of the Black Sea, Reuters reported.

The ministry said in a statement on the Telegram communication app that air defense forces had "thwarted an attempted terrorist attack" by intercepting five drones over the Black Sea at around 17:00 GMT.

A second statement said four missiles had been intercepted over the Crimean peninsula as of 00:30 a.m. today.

Reuters notes that it cannot independently confirm the Russian ministry's information.

"The next step after obtaining Russian 'citizenship' will be to adopt the children as Russians”

"The forced granting of citizenship of the Russian Federation to illegally deported Ukrainian children from the occupied territories of Ukraine is a sign of genocide."

This was written by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for human rights, Dmitry Lubinets, оn Telegram, quoted by UNIAN. The Ombudsman commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree to grant Russian citizenship to Ukrainian children.

The decree states that orphans and children without parental care, who are citizens of Ukraine, can receive Russian citizenship by personal decision of Putin, without taking into account all or individual requirements of federal legislation. An application for such citizenship can be submitted by the heads of Russian organizations in which the child is placed under supervision.

"I think that the granting of Russian citizenship to children is done so that deported Ukrainian children do not remain ‘legally’ on Russian territory," noted Lubinets.

"We understand the severe consequences of such actions, because the next step after receiving Russian 'citizenship' will be to adopt the children as Russians, and then change their personal data," he added.

In this regard, the ombudsman notes that at some point not a single Ukrainian child will remain in the Russian Federation, as they will all become "Russians" in the next 3 months. Lubinets intends to take all necessary measures. "Ultimately, the transfer of children from one national group to another, of course, which is the forced citizenship of children, is one of the hallmarks of genocide," he argued.

Yesterday, Putin signed a decree simplifying the acceptance of Russian citizenship for a number of categories of Ukrainians and foreigners fighting on the side of the Russian Federation. This will allow the rapid issuance of Russian passports to stateless persons and Ukrainians who have no other citizenship, were born and permanently resided in occupied Crimea, but left it before the annexation. The decree also applies to Ukrainians who are in Russia with the right of temporary or permanent residence.

Erdogan and Zelensky held a telephone conversation

The Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone conversation with the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the Communications Directorate of the Turkish Presidency reported.

During the conversation, regional and global issues were discussed, including the war between Ukraine and Russia.

President Erdogan has stated that Turkey is making great efforts to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, as well as to achieve lasting peace in the troubled areas.

He has again expressed Turkey's readiness to take on the role of mediator and host negotiations to achieve peace in Ukraine. Erdogan also stated that it is important for the "grain corridor" to be restructured and start functioning again, and that he continues to maintain diplomatic contacts for the realization of this goal.

The Turkish leader added that "the ceasefire in Ukraine should be established as soon as possible".

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