Journalists of The New York Times published an investigation in which it is noted that in 2022, the occupiers kidnapped 46 children from the Kherson orphanage. Some of these children are already adopted by Russian families.
The National Information Bureau reports that 19,546 children have been abducted since the beginning of Russian aggression in Ukraine. However, the exact number of exported goods may be higher than indicated.
Natalia Lukina was a doctor at the Kherson Children's Home - a state foster home for children with special needs. When the full-scale invasion began, workers immediately began looking for a safe place for babies and young children. And there was only one bomb shelter within walking distance, and later, the local pastor, who learned about the problem, offered to move the children to Calvary Church.
The orphanage staff were very afraid that the occupiers might take the children away, and unfortunately, this nightmare became a reality on April 25, 2022. As NYT journalists write, then the Russian military appeared on the doorstep and took away 46 children on the orders of Russian President Putin and the so-called Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
The journalists noted that these actions of the Russians can easily be qualified as a war crime, because the children were kidnapped and later forcibly moved to the territory of Russia. At first, the children were taken back to the Kherson orphanage, and Russian propagandists published the moment of the "relocation". Later, the kidnapped minors became the object of many propagandistic Russian stories.
On October 21, the occupiers, led by the "Navigator", who was later identified as United Russia MP Ihor Kastyukevich, arrived at the Kherson orphanage and began to take the children, put them on a list by name, put them on a bus and took them to an unknown destination. The occupiers also took away all the documentation belonging to the children, and even their medical records.
Currently, the exact location of the children kidnapped from Kherson is unknown. At the time, Russian officials claimed that the removal of minors to Simferopol was an "act of humanitarian intervention", however, this was kidnapping and a war crime.
From Kherson, the children were brought to occupied Simferopol, and in December 2022, the kidnapped Ukrainian children began to be integrated into Russian society. They were given Russian birth certificates, Russian social insurance numbers, and later Russian citizenship.
At least 2 of the 46 abducted children have already been officially adopted by the Russians, 7 have been returned to Ukraine. However, the fate of the other 37 minors remains unknown.
The head of OP Andriy Yermak reacted to the material of NYT journalists. He emphasized that Russia not only refuses to cooperate, but also conducts propaganda that these children need "re-education". Yermak added that some of them are adopted by Russian families, while others remain in boarding schools. Ukrainian families experience severe emotional trauma due to separation from their children, and children face assimilation pressure in new conditions.
Ukraine is calling on the international community to increase pressure on Russia to return the children, but the process is complicated by political and bureaucratic obstacles. International organizations, such as the UN, continue to work to ensure the return of children, but it is difficult to achieve quick results due to the resistance of the Russian authorities and the difficult international situation, Yermak emphasized.
At the same time, he added that Russia denies any accusations, justifying its own actions by the fact that "the children are in safe conditions." However, thousands of families hope to be reunited with their children.
