Ukraine’s human rights commissioner has said that over 19,500 Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion are being “raised to be part of a new generation of the Russian army.”
Russia stands accused of deporting thousands of children from Ukraine. Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian presidential commissioner for children’s rights in Office, have had International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued against them for the alleged unlawful deportation of children from occupied Ukraine.
The children face identity changes and military-style education, Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets told the media outlet Euronews.
Of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children who have reportedly been taken to Russia from Ukraine, only about 1,000 have been taken back.
Lubinets added that Moscow’s deportation of Ukrainian children began during its 2014 invasion, with the first recorded case occurring in annexed Crimea. A decade later, these deportations allegedly continue across all Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Ukraine has managed to confirm 19,546 cases of forced deportation, affecting orphans, children without parental care and those with family still in Ukraine.
After their relocation to Russia, Ukrainian children’s identities are reportedly altered to sever their connections to Ukraine, making it difficult for relatives to find them.
The children face identity changes and military-style education, Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets told the media outlet Euronews.
Of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children who have reportedly been taken to Russia from Ukraine, only about 1,000 have been taken back.
Lubinets added that Moscow’s deportation of Ukrainian children began during its 2014 invasion, with the first recorded case occurring in annexed Crimea. A decade later, these deportations allegedly continue across all Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Ukraine has managed to confirm 19,546 cases of forced deportation, affecting orphans, children without parental care and those with family still in Ukraine.
After their relocation to Russia, Ukrainian children’s identities are reportedly altered to sever their connections to Ukraine, making it difficult for relatives to find them.
“Once Ukrainian children are deported to Russia, local authorities try to erase any of their connection to their homeland. The children are being ‘brainwashed,’ Lubinets said.
Passports, birth certificates—all the information is also changed into ‘Russian',” he added.
He also revealed that these children are often required to join Russian youth military groups, regardless of gender.
"We see (in that) all the details of colonial policy of Russian Federation against Ukraine. And I really believe that the main goal for Russians for the deportation of Ukrainian children is to raise a new generation of the Russian army.”
Lvova-Belova has defended the relocations, even saying she "adopted" a teenage boy from Mariupol, a Ukrainian city taken by Russian forces in 2022. Ukrainian authorities allege that other Russian officials are also involved in these deportations.
Lubinets told Euronews that he fears many more children are at risk.
“Now that more than 20% of Ukrainian territory is under Russian occupation, 1.5 million of Ukrainian children live on that territory. And the Russian Federation can deport all these children to the Russian side.”
Passports, birth certificates—all the information is also changed into ‘Russian',” he added.
He also revealed that these children are often required to join Russian youth military groups, regardless of gender.
"We see (in that) all the details of colonial policy of Russian Federation against Ukraine. And I really believe that the main goal for Russians for the deportation of Ukrainian children is to raise a new generation of the Russian army.”
Lvova-Belova has defended the relocations, even saying she "adopted" a teenage boy from Mariupol, a Ukrainian city taken by Russian forces in 2022. Ukrainian authorities allege that other Russian officials are also involved in these deportations.
Lubinets told Euronews that he fears many more children are at risk.
“Now that more than 20% of Ukrainian territory is under Russian occupation, 1.5 million of Ukrainian children live on that territory. And the Russian Federation can deport all these children to the Russian side.”
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