Well-known cultural figures, including performer Marina Abramovic, actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, writer and director Bernard-Henri Lévy, writer, critic, publicist and president of American PEN Salman Rushdie, human rights activist Oleksandra Matviychuk, actor and director Sean Penn, musician and actor Sting, and tennis player Elina Svitolina, have recorded an open appeal to the international community regarding Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children. This was reported on the Divoche.media website.
The video message was published on the website of L'Express magazine after the presentation of Bernard-Henri Lévy's documentary film Notre guerre (Our War), which tells stories of resistance, resilience and dignity of Ukrainians — both civilians and Ukrainian military personnel.
“Since 24 February 2022, thousands of Ukrainian children have been torn from their families and their land in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. These are not lost children. These are stolen children, abducted by Russian occupation forces, taken from their parents, schools, language and lives,” the French director said in the video.
The initiators of the appeal recalled that in response to this crime, Ukraine, under the leadership of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, launched the Bring The Kids Back UA initiative, which aims to find these children, return them home and help them return to normal life with the support of civil society and international partners.
In his video message, Sting emphasised that the situation Ukraine is facing is not a ‘humanitarian crisis’ but a ‘deliberate operation to destroy the identity of an entire generation.’
‘This Russification of Ukrainian youth is part of Putin's campaign to destroy Ukraine as a nation and one of his contributions, along with his army and ideologues, to the world's history of shame. These actions are not only a violation of international law, but also an insult to the very idea of humanity,’ the performer noted.
According to Charlotte Gainsbourg, all those who joined this appeal have loyally supported Ukraine since the first day of full-scale Russian aggression and are rebelling ‘against this abomination.’
‘We believe that finding, identifying and returning every abducted child home is an absolute prerequisite for a just and lasting peace,’ the actress added.
‘We ask you to act not as diplomats, elected officials or analysts, but as people. As parents. As people who understand what it means to lose someone you love and what it means to never get them back,’ said Elina Svitolina, the most successful athlete in the history of Ukrainian tennis, addressing the world.