Russians Kidnap and Forcibly Russify Ukrainian Children

This is detailed in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Leonid Pasechnik, head of the so-called “LPR” (Luhansk People’s Republic), announced that Russian regions are ready to receive over 12,000 children from the Luhansk region during the summer. Analysts note that he was referring to areas of the region temporarily occupied by Russian forces.

The Kremlin’s “Useful Holidays” program will fund trips for 40,000 children from occupied Ukraine, who will “visit” Russia to participate in summer camps and educational activities. For instance, the “Ocean” camp in Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, will host children from occupied Kherson for participation in “educational, sports, and cultural programs.”

Moreover, Andrey Alekseyenko, an occupation senator from the Kherson region, announced on May 27 that 575 children from the occupied Kherson region will attend three-week summer camps in occupied Crimea and the Russian Republic of Adygea.

It is noted that Ukrainian children sent to these so-called “holidays” or “summer camps” are subjected to Russification programs aimed at isolating them from their Ukrainian families, language, culture, and history. ISW analysts remind that the forcible transfer of children from one group to another is recognized as an act of genocide. Thus, the Kremlin’s multifaceted schemes of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia can be classified as acts of genocide.

According to official data from the National Information Bureau, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian agents have forcibly taken 19,546 Ukrainian children. The transfers occurred within occupied territories and to Russia, Belarus, and even South Ossetia.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, in connection with suspected unlawful deportation of people, particularly children, from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

Additionally, following a meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which had been kidnapped and illegally deported by Russian invaders, dozens of countries expressed their readiness to actively participate in implementing projects presented by Ukraine that will facilitate the return and reintegration of Ukrainian children.

Photo: open sources