The European Court of Human Rights found that the Russian Federation systematically relocated and subsequently adopted Ukrainian children between June 2014 and September 2022. Such actions violate Articles 3, 5, and 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This is stated in the ECHR decision, UNN reports with reference to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
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The court also recognized that after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, these crimes acquired an even greater scale and systemic nature.
The ECHR confirmed that since May 2022, legislative changes have been adopted in the Russian Federation that significantly simplified the process of Ukrainian children acquiring Russian citizenship and their adoption. This indicates the implementation of a long-term, in fact, permanent policy of purposeful removal of Ukrainian children from the care of their legal representatives.
It was also confirmed that the processes of illegal relocation, change of citizenship, and adoption were coordinated at the highest state level in the Russian Federation. In particular, the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation personally adopted a child taken from Mariupol.
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The Ministry of Justice also reported that to record such cases and return children home, the Ministry of Justice created a Register of deported or forcibly displaced children.