Authorities report that a Russian girl who was taken from her father after she drew an anti-war picture at school has been returned to her estranged mother. Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's children's commissioner, stated that the adolescent Masha Moskaleva altered her mind after initially refusing to visit her mother.
As a consequence of the drawing, her father Alexei received a prison sentence, but his whereabouts are unknown. After her father's imprisonment in March, Masha was given up for adoption.
According to sources, the mother has been estranged from the family for at least seven years. Mr. Moskalev fled the night before the verdict in his criminal case was rendered.
According to Belarusian authorities, he was detained in Minsk last week. Thursday, a hearing was convened in Mr. Moskalev's hometown of Yefremov, 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Moscow, concerning the restriction of his parental rights. Russian authorities assert that the father's poor upbringing rather than his conviction prompted the case.
The independent human rights organization OVD-Info published what it described as Alexei's handwritten letter to his daughter, imploring her to ask for him and to be insistent if she was brought to the hearing. Additionally, he requests her consent if a relative offers to become her legal guardian.
Activists were present outside of court. Lena Tarbayeva was arrested for carrying a placard that had a depiction of Masha and stated that Putin ate children. The hearing was eventually postponed until April 20.
Mr. Moskalev was sentenced to two years in prison in absentia on March 28 for discrediting the military. Authorities claim that he escaped house arrest the evening before the verdict. Last year, he came to the attention of authorities after a school reported the drawing to police, he said.
In April of last year, Masha, then 12 years old, drew a Ukrainian flag with the inscription "Glory to Ukraine," missiles, and a Russian flag with the inscription "No to war!"
In a separate development, diplomats left Ms. Lvova-talk Belova's on the evacuation of children from conflict zones. The International Criminal Court is seeking the children's commissioner for war crimes, who delivered the speech via video link (ICC).
The United States, the United Kingdom, Albania, and Malta departed the Security Council meeting room, while the United States and the United Kingdom blocked a webcast of the event. The International Criminal Court accuses her of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
Moscow asserts that the arrest warrants against Ms. Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin are invalid because Russia is not a signatory to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court.
It does not deny the evacuations, but portrays them as a humanitarian effort to aid orphans. The demonstration took place as France's UN mission issued a statement condemning the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children and other grievous violations against children committed by Russian forces in Ukraine on behalf of 50 member nations.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield explained the decision to block the webcast of the Russian event by stating that Ms. Lvova-Belova should not have access to a global forum from which she can spread disinformation and defend her reprehensible actions in Ukraine. Ms. Lvova-Belova stated in her presentation that approximately five million Ukrainians, including 700,000 children, had traveled to Russia since the invasion began in February of last year.
