On Friday, Lithuanian prosecutors launched a pre-trial investigation into possible child trafficking in connection with the arrival of 43 children from Ukraine.
In mid-March, the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service turned to the police over the arrival of the Ukrainian children in Lithuania, the prosecution service said.
The police initially refused to open a probe but the prosecutor general overruled the police decision on March 24 and launched a pre-trial investigation.
According to the prosecution service, several adults who arrived in Lithuania on March 2 had the intention to take the children to another country. However, the prosecutors found that they intended for the children to be adopted.
"The Lithuanian authorities have not yet been provided with any decisions of the Ukrainian authorities and official documents confirming that such a removal of these children from Ukraine and their adoption in another country is fully coordinated, justified and lawful," the prosecution service said.
The removal of children from Ukraine for adoption may constitute a criminal offence, leading to the decision to open a pre-trial investigation, the prosecutors said.
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