Belarus Red Cross sparks outcry after its chief says it brought Ukrainian children to Belarus

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Belarus Red Cross has sparked international outrage after its chief told state television that the organization is actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to Belarus. Both Ukraine and the Belarusian opposition have decried the transfer as unlawful deportations. A state TV channel on Wednesday showed Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Belarus Red Cross, visiting the partially occupied Luhansk region in Ukraine and saying that his organization was actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children to Belarus. Ukraine’s foreign minister urged the International Criminal Court to swiftly “issue an arrest warrant” for Shautsou.