Putin sends abducted Ukrainian children to North Korea

 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia are being forcibly sent to a summer camp in North Korea, a legal expert has said.

Kateryna Rashevska, a representative from Ukraine’s regional centre for human rights, told the US Senate that at least two young girls had been sent to Songdowon camp in North Korea.

At the children’s camp, the two girls – Misha, 12, and Liza, 16 – were “taught to ‘destroy Japanese militarists’ and met Korean veterans who … attacked the US Navy ship Pueblo”, she said.

Ms Rashevska made the comments at the start of the US Senate’s hearing on Russia’s mass abduction of Ukrainian children.

At least 19,546 Ukrainian children are believed to have been abducted from Russian-controlled territory and taken to Russia since the start of the invasion in Feb 2022.

They are often taken to re-education camps, where they are “militarised and Russified”, Ms Rashevska said, adding that the human rights centre had identified at least 165 such camps.

The Songdowon camp – located in Wonsan, North Korea – hosts around 400 children every year. It hosts a series of activities, including a water park, a football pitch and a large private beach.

Russia is one of a handful of countries that is allowed to send children to the camp. A former attendee, Yuri Frolov, previously told CNN that he attended the camp when he was 15, and socialised with children from Laos, Nigeria, Tanzania and China.

Earlier this week, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said only 1,859 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia had been brought back so far.

Kyiv has made the return of stolen Ukrainian children a key demand during US-brokered peace negotiations with Russia, which are set to continue on Thursday.

Russia blames ‘crazy’ Europe

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s peace envoys, will speak with Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s chief negotiators in Miami after their talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.

Speaking ahead of his visit to India on Thursday, Putin called on Europe to enter negotiations but accused Ukraine’s allies of “hindering” the US-led talks.

Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and a key Putin ally, also threatened war with Europe over Russia’s frozen assets which could be used by the EU to fund Ukraine.

He said: “If the crazy EU does steal frozen Russian assets for a “reparations loan,” we may view it as a casus belli with all the relevant implications for Brussels & Co. Then, these funds may have to be returned, not in court but as real reparations paid in kind by Russia’s fallen foes.”

Putin reiterated his call for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donbas region not currently under Russian military control.

“Either we liberate these territories by force of arms, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories and stop killing people,” he said.

Putin revealed that Donald Trump’s original 28-point peace plan had been divided into four parts, which were discussed in a “useful” meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday.

“What our American colleagues brought us was based, one way or another, on our agreements prior to this meeting with President Trump in Alaska,” he said.

Attacks continue despite talk of peace

Russia has continued to launch devastating attacks on Ukraine against the backdrop of peace talks, striking an energy facility in Odessa with drones overnight. Six people were injured, including two who had become trapped inside a building.

Moscow also launched a ballistic missile at Kryvyi Rih – Mr Zelensky’s hometown – on Wednesday evening, injuring six, including a six-year-old girl.

Meanwhile, the Romanian military said it had blown up a maritime drone that was endangering navigation in the Black Sea.

The ministry said that the drone, which was found in an area 36 nautical miles (66 km) east of Constanta, was a Sea Baby. The Sea Baby is a maritime drone developed by Ukraine.

Worries over the safety of shipping in the Black Sea following attacks on Russia-linked tankers have caused insurance rates to rise in a body of water that is crucial for the shipment of grain, oil and oil products.