Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law that allows police to evacuate children from a war zone without the consent of their parents.
This was reported by the press service of the Verkhovna Rada, informs the portal PromPolitInform.
The document allows the evacuation of children from places of active hostilities, even in case of refusal of parents. The law determines that the child’s right to life is a priority, so military administrations now have the authority to decide on the mandatory departure of minors to safe regions to protect against shelling, the parliament said.
The Verkhovna Rada adopted the relevant government law on February 10. According to it, at least one parent or guardian must take the child to safe areas after the decision on mandatory evacuation. If they refuse, she is evacuated by the police without their consent. Next, law enforcement officers transfer the child to the guardianship authorities.
The bill was registered in parliament on December 23, 2024. In the first reading, it was adopted on February 11, 2025. Then the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Bogdan Drapyat, wrote in his column that practical experience shows: “Even in areas where high-intensity military operations are conducted and Russian invaders are on the approaches, there are numerous cases when parents stubbornly refuse to evacuate with their children.”
From settlements classified as territories of possible hostilities, such evacuation of children is carried out by guardianship and guardianship authorities with the involvement of the police.
That is, at the legislative level, the mechanism for conducting evacuation measures for children from the territories of possible hostilities and territories of active hostilities is distinguished (in the latter case, the guardianship and guardianship authorities do not work due to security risks), he noted.
Evacuation measures include not only the delivery from dangerous areas to safe ones, but also the provision of temporary housing, medicines and basic necessities.
In accordance with the law, the decision on the mandatory evacuation of children by force is made by the regional military administration at the suggestion of the military command and in coordination with the Coordination Headquarters for evacuation measures.
Photo – facebook.com/zelenskyy.official
