There are currently 19,546 recorded cases of forced relocation of Ukrainian children deported to the Russian Federation

Currently, the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine is aware of 19,546 recorded cases of forced transfer to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or deportation by Russia of Ukrainian children. Abducted children are trying to be re-educated in the spirit of the “Russian world”. For children who do not want to put up with the actions of the Russians, separate special camps have been created on the territory of Russia and in the occupied Crimea.

This was stated by Dmytro Lubinets, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: “Actually, this figure has not changed in recent months, I will explain why. 19,546 are recorded cases of forced transfer to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia. This means that we, as Ukrainian authorities, we know the last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, where this Ukrainian child is from, which settlement, where she is approximately now on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

According to him, the kidnapped children from Ukraine are trying to be re-educated and brought up in the spirit of the “Russian world”.

“They said, in fact, you have always been Russians. Neither Ukraine, as a state, nor the Ukrainian ethnic group, the Ukrainian language, never existed. “You are Russians. You should be happy now that you can finally identify yourself as real people, real Russians,’ they say to them,” he explained.

At the same time, there are children who, by all their actions, show that they do not want to put up with it. It was for the re-education of these so-called “difficult children” that separate special camps were created. There are at least 43 such camps on the territory of Russia and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, including Crimea.

According to Lubinets, in such camps, deported children supposedly go on vacation, but in fact they come under additional psychological and sometimes physical pressure.

Lubinets also talked about cases when the “Russian elite” takes stolen Ukrainian children to their families. They are made “imperials”, educated in various military institutions, their documents are changed.

“The entire state apparatus of the Russian Federation is working to deport Ukrainian children. Everyone is doing it — publicly, privately, setting their own example by taking away a Ukrainian child and thus supporting this trend,” the ombudsman noted.

As of now, Ukraine managed to return home 517 children illegally displaced or deported by Russia.