Russian diplomat's laughter at UN ignites outrage amid tragedy
Crimes against Ukrainian children are a systematic policy of the Russian Federation, said Daria Zarivna, an advisor to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, during the UN Security Council session on Wednesday. During her speech, cameras captured laughter from a Russian diplomat.
Zarivna presented a report at the UN forum on the violations of Ukrainian children's rights. “Ukraine is searching for about 20,000 children who were forcibly deported by the Russian Federation,” she said.
According to her, as a result of the war, at least 16 children are killed or injured every week. She pointed out that children are also confronted with torture, sexual violence, and the destruction of family life.
At the same time, Zarivna emphasized that the full scale of the tragedy is not known, as hundreds of thousands of children are in territories controlled by the Russian Federation, inaccessible to Ukraine and international organizations.
“Sexual violence, especially rape, is another serious threat. Among the documented sexual crimes committed by Russian soldiers against minors, the youngest victim was just four years old,” said Zarivna, as reported by the Donbas Noviny portal.
At a certain point during the Ukrainian politician’s speech, cameras showed the reaction of the Russian representative at the UN. The recording shows the man starting to laugh. Ukrainian media emphasize that this occurs when Daria Zarivna talks about the death of the Basilevich family in Lviv and the abduction of Ukrainian children.
The spokesperson for the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Sergei Bratchuk, reported that the diplomat caught by the camera is Roman Kashaev.
