MP calls for release of Ukrainian children

Baxter's appeal to Putin

- TAYLOR MURRAY

A Renfrewshire MP became emotional after calling for abducted Ukrainian children to be released.

Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP Johanna Baxter, along with fellow Labour MP Patricia Ferguson, urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow kids to be returned back to their families.

Around 20,000 Ukrainian youngsters have been abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion almost four years ago.

Ms Baxter outlined the horror of the situation in parliament when she told of the stories that some of the children reported when they were eventually freed.

"One in 10 of the children who have been rescued from Russia have reported that they have been sexually abused," she said.

"So, can the Prime Minister [Keir Starmer] remind [United States] President [Donald] Trump that behind every one of those figures is a child?