Russia downplays the true extent of the abduction of Ukrainian children, despite evidence and lists - ISW
Kyiv • UNN
Russia denies the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children, calling it a "rescue." Ukraine has handed over a list of hundreds of deported children, but Russia recognizes only "dozens."
The Kremlin stubbornly denies Russia's systematic abduction of Ukrainian children, as evidenced by the meeting of delegations from the two countries in Istanbul on June 2. This is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports UNN.
Details
Analysts point out that the Ukrainian delegation handed over to Russia the names of "hundreds" of abducted Ukrainian children, whom Russia must return to Ukraine. At the same time, according to the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, we are talking only about "dozens", while the Russian Federation returns Ukrainian children when the Russian authorities can find the children's parents or other legal representatives, and that Russia does not kidnap Ukrainian children, but "saves" them.
Medinsky's statement downplays the true scale of Russia's pre-war preparations, legal mechanisms and various schemes for concealing and justifying the forced deportation, forced assimilation and militarization of Ukrainian children.
They remind that Ukraine has confirmed the deportation of at least 19,456 Ukrainian children by Russia, and only 1,345 deported Ukrainian children had been returned to Ukraine as of June 2. At the same time, according to the Yale University Humanitarian Research Laboratory, as of March 19, 2025, the number of deported children was approaching 35,000.
Kremlin Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova (against whom the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March 2023 for her role in the abduction of Ukrainian children) claimed that Russia had "accepted" as many as 700,000 Ukrainian children from February 2022 to July 2023.
Analysts note that the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide directly prohibits the forcible transfer of children from one target group to another and considers these violations as constituent acts of genocide.
Let us remind you
On the eve of the Ukrainian delegation handed over to the Russians a list of hundreds of deported children who need to be returned. Russia must do this to show its readiness for a peaceful settlement, said the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov.
Later, the Russian side published a list of 339 Ukrainian children who were allegedly "rescued" from the war zone. At the same time, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation in the negotiations in Istanbul, denied the facts of child abduction, accusing the Ukrainian authorities of "a show for Europeans."