Joy for six Ukrainian children as they are reunited with their families following Qatar-brokered deal with Moscow 20 months after they were snatched by Russia

Half a dozen Ukrainian children are soon to be reunited with their families for the first time in almost 20 months in the latest Qatar-brokered deal with Moscow.

Kyiv says that thousands of minors were taken either to Russia or to Russian-held territory following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

But thanks to sensitive negotiations between Moscow and diplomats in Qatar - which are backed by Ukraine - six children will be, or already are, back in the loving arms of their families.

The new scheme to secure the safe return of hundreds of Ukrainian youngsters in Russia had its first success in October, when four Ukrainian children were handed over to Qatari diplomats before being returned to their families.

The children included in today's announcement of the latest reunification operation have not been named but include an 11-year-old boy whose mother is a Ukrainian soldier currently being held captive in Russia.

The little boy, who lost his father 10 years ago, is travelling from Moscow to Ukraine, where he will go to live with his maternal aunt, who will become his guardian.

The youngest of the children, an eight-year-old boy had been living with his grandmother in the city of Kremennaya, in occupied Lukansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine, since March 2022, a month after Putin's attack.

In a carefully handled operation, Qatari officials secured permission for the little boy's mother to travel to Luhansk so they could see one another again.

The pair are being escorted by diplomats from Qatar to Moscow before travelling to Ukraine with the wider group.

The reunion was hit by an agonising setback in its first attempt when a vehicle carrying the child broke down, delaying his departure from his grandmother's village by a day.

But his grandmother was able to meet the boy's mother in Luhansk to hand over the boy.

Meanwhile, two siblings who had been staying with their older sister and father in Russia will be reunited with their mother in Ukraine via Moscow.

A 13-year-old boy who had been staying with his grandmother in the village of Tarasovka district in Russia was the first to be reunited with loved ones and is back with his mother, who lives in Ukraine.

The youngster and his mother are travelling to Moscow before returning to Ukraine with the other children and their loved ones.

Finally, a 15-year-old boy who had been living with his grandmother in the occupied Zaporozhye region of Ukraine will join his mother in Kyiv, via Moscow.

Lolwah Al-Khater, Qatar's minister for international cooperation, has been mediating and overseeing the safe return of the children.

He said: 'We are pleased that an additional six Ukrainian children have been successfully reunited with their families.

'As millions of people around the world set aside time to gather with loved ones, it is heartwarming to know that a few more families will be reunited this holiday season.

'Moments like this serve as a timely reminder that mediation can yield positive results when both parties, regardless of their differences, are willing to engage patiently and in good faith. We thank our Russian and Ukrainian counterparts for their full commitment to these discussions.

'Qatar's approach has been to identify areas where both the Ukrainian and Russian sides share common interests and use that as a foundation to build trust.

'Although the road ahead is still long and the challenges are many, we remain committed to engaging with both sides as long as there is a shared willingness to continue the course.'

Diplomats in Qatar trying to ensure the safe return of Ukrainian children to their families face several challenges, not least the changing routes involved in getting them back home.

Families travel to Kyiv via Moscow and Minsk and Qatari officials accompany the children to the Ukrainian border where they are handed over to their Ukrainian counterparts.

Diplomats hosted the children at the Qatari Embassy in Moscow before arranging their safe return to Ukraine.

The successful return of the Ukrainian children is understood to reaffirm Qatar's commitment to promoting peace, stability and security regionally and internationally.

Kyiv has estimated between 16,000 and 20,000 children have ended up in Russia without their parents' consent. Moscow claims the figure is in the hundreds.

International critics have condemned Ukrainian children being in Russia, comparing it to ethnic cleansing.

In March, judges of the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.

It accused them both of war crimes, saying they bear individual responsibility for the 'unlawful deportation' and 'unlawful transfer' of Ukrainian children to Russia.