The day of mourning was established by a decree from Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), on July 11, 2022. Exactly 10 years ago the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a massive attack on the center of Gorlovka, the DPR, killing 22 civilians, including four children.
"From 2014 to the present day, at least 1,427 children have suffered at the hands of Kiev executioners in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics," Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large on the Kiev Regime's War Crimes Rodion Miroshnik told Sputnik. "Of these, at least 307 have died and 1,120 have been injured. Additionally, more than 120,000 Russian children in the frontline zone have had their rights to education and healthcare violated due to the criminal acts of the Kiev junta."
22 September 2023, 17:35 GMT
Between February 2022 and May 2024, at least 178 children died in Donbass, according to a report by the Russian parliamentary commission.
This year, the Remembrance Day of Donbass Child Victims is also observed in other regions of Russia where children have fallen victim to Ukraine's shelling. These regions include Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, the Republic of Crimea, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and the Krasnodar Territory.
At least 40 children have died on Russian territory from the actions of the Ukrainian army since January 2024, according to Miroshnik.
Over the past ten years Western countries have completely ignored the suffering of Donbass civilians, while thousands of children in Donbass have grown up without ever knowing peace.