Ukraine’s Stolen Children review – the laughter of the Russian children’s commissioner is shocking

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This calm, vivid documentary looks at the thousands of youngsters missing amidst the invasion – and their families’ search. Be warned: the Russian response may cause outrage

 

These are terrible times, bleak times, and Ukraine’s Stolen Children is one of many films continuing to shed light on the growing list of horrors blighting the world. Veteran journalist and film-maker Shahida Tulaganova tells the horrifying story of the thousands of children reported missing from Ukraine in 2022, who were taken away in the months after Russia invaded the country.

In March, the international criminal court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children’s rights, for the alleged war crimes of unlawfully deporting and transporting Ukrainian children. In this film, Tulaganova gets to the heart of it, speaking to some of the young people who were taken by the Russians, sometimes to what were supposed to be holiday camps. She also meets their family members and carers, and those working for the charity that has been trying to bring them home.

Denis was 16 and living in an orphanage in the Kherson region when Russian troops invaded. Volodymyr Sahaidak, who ran the orphanage, describes a bright and helpful boy who tried to take care of the younger children while the area was under blockade. As with many contemporary films about conflict, the presence of phones adds an element of intimacy, as we see clips of Denis, talking about the psychological difficulties of living under fear of attack. Shortly after Denis was taken away, he was seen on Russian state television, draped in a Russian flag.

 

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