- The Associated Press reports and The New York Times highlight the deportation of Ukrainian children.
- Some children are being brought to Russia by their parents, who have a fast-tracked adoption process.
- The Times reported that a 14-year-old girl said she was forced to leave Ukraine and was attempting to return there.
Ukrainian officials claimed that thousands of children were taken from Ukraine by Russian forces and deported to Russia-occupied territories, or Russia itself. Adoption of the children is possible quickly.
One child, a 14 year-old girl named Anya, was told The New York TimesShe was taken against her will, and she is currently living in Russia with a foster parent. Although she wanted to be with her Ukrainian friends and family, she said that she was on track towards becoming a Russian citizen.
She said that she didn’t want the trip, and was interviewed by the Times via voice memos and instant messages. “But nobody asked.”
Anya is only one example of recent Russian reports about Russia’s attempts to adopt Ukrainian children and raise them Russian-style. Ukrainian officials stated this as early as April Russian forces “forcibly deported” childrenAdoptions that are fast-tracking and easy to track. The official count is tracked by the Ukrainian governmentAccording to some estimates, more than 8,700 people have been deported. However, it is hard to track this number.
US officialsIn September, Russian authorities claimed that they had oversaw the deportation to Russia of thousands of Ukrainian children. They also stated that the “efforts specifically include forced adoption of Ukrainian children into Russian homes” and the “patriotic education” of Ukrainian children.
Officials from the United States also stated that the legislation was intended to expedite the process of granting Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children and the “deliberate expulsion of Ukrainian children by Russia’s forces.”
Russia has not released a number to indicate how many Ukrainian children were brought over. However, Russia broadcasts frequently the arrival of children described by an “orphan” as Ukrainians. Associated Press investigation. According to the Times, Russian state media portrays the children as abandoned, and then saves them from war. They are welcomed with teddy bears.
Russia claims that the deported children did not have guardians or parents, but reports refute this claim. Some of the children are being taken from institutional homes, such as Anya, who was in a home for tuberculosis patients — but not all children residing in such homes are orphans, according to the Times.
AP also identified children that were not orphans but who had been lied about and told by their parents they didn’t want to be adopted. According to the outlet, even though children aren’t parentless, removing them could signal a plot at genocide or a desire for the destruction of Ukrainian culture, and identity.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Russian forces were also accused of war crimes. United Nations Commissioned InvestigatorsSeptember concluded that several war crimes were committed. These included torture and rape, as well as evidence of forced deportations.
