UN envoy reportedly meeting Russian official accused of war crimes for deporting Ukrainian children

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy charged with trying to protect children caught in conflicts is in Moscow, where she is reported to be meeting Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, who is charged with war crimes for deporting children from Ukraine. Human Rights Watch strongly criticized Virginia Gamba’s reported meeting with Maria Lvova-Belova, saying the Russian commissioner should be behind bars and not meeting with senior U.N. representatives. U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay did not confirm that Gamba was meeting with Lvova-Belova while in Moscow. In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.