Russia's Defense Ministry’s plane returns 44 kids from Syria

A Russian Defense Ministry’s plane brought another 44 Russian children back to Russia from Syria on Monday, the press office of the Children’s Rights Commissioner for the Russian President Anna Kuznetsova said in a statement.

"The Russian Defense Ministry’s plane carrying 44 children aged between two and 16 landed at Chkalovsky Airport outside Moscow. The kids come from a refugee camp located in an area not controlled by the Syrian authorities and a Damascus orphanage," the statement reads.

According to earlier reports, 34 Russian children from refugee camps and ten kids from a Damascus orphanage were handed over to Kuznetsova.

"I have seen how children live in the Damascus orphanage, where conditions are created for their development and caring teachers support them. However, the children’s families are waiting for them back home, they haven’t seen each other for several years. Moreover, some grandparents have only seen their grandchildren through photos," TASS cited Kuznetsova as saying.