Ukraine has charged a Russian politician and two collaborators with war crimes over the alleged deportation of dozens of orphans.
It claims more than 19,000 children have been illegally transferred to Russia or Russian-held territory.
Officials said the suspects are the first to be charged in the matter.
Prosecution documents seen by Reuters allege 48 children were forcibly displaced from a children’s home in Kherson in September and October and taken to Moscow and occupied Crimea.
Some are said to have been as young as one.
Russia denies violating children’s rights and says its forces were rescuing them from conflict zones.
Biden says Putin ‘losing war in Iraq’ in latest mishap
Ukraine war: Russian missile ‘designed to bring down a plane’ hits crowded pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk
Ukraine has recaptured territory held by Russia since 2014, UK says – as Zelenskyy visits frontline
The Ukrainian charges follow a wider investigation by the International Criminal Court.
In March, it issued arrest warrants for President Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner over the claims.
Read more:
How 15 orphans escaped Russia and the thousands left behind
Putin’s ‘child snatcher’ and other fugitives wanted by ICC
