Trudeau says Russia needs to be accountable for ‘genocide’ of taking Ukrainian children

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russia must be held accountable for taking thousands of Ukrainian children from their homes and trying to erase their Ukrainian identity.

Russia must be held accountable for “an element of genocide” it’s perpetrating by taking thousands of Ukrainian children from their homes and trying to erase their Ukrainian identity, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday at the end of a global summit focused on restoring peace between the two countries.

More than 90 nations attended the two-day weekend summit, which aimed to spark discussions of a path toward ending the war that has dragged on since February 2022.

A joint statement signed by the bulk of participants called for the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine to be the basis for any peace agreement, but Trudeau’s primary focus was on Ukrainian children caught up in the conflict.

“Regardless of what a given person or a given country around the world might think of the causes of the war, or the responsibility that Russia wields, everyone can agree that taking kids away from their families, trying to erase their language, their culture — that’s an element of genocide,” Trudeau told reporters on Sunday morning.

“That’s pure colonialism. These are things that Russia needs to be accountable for.”

Trudeau stopped short of using the term when he was asked about allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

He spent Sunday afternoon travelling back to Ottawa, concluding a five-day international trip that included the G7 leaders’ summit in Italy.

Before departing, Trudeau participated in the closing news conference alongside Swiss President Viola Amherd, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.