Investigation Uncovers Abducted Ukrainian Children Listed for Adoption in Russia

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An investigation by the Financial Times has uncovered that Ukrainian children, abducted and taken to Russia during the Kremlin's 2022 invasion, have been listed for adoption on Russian government-linked websites. Using advanced image recognition tools, public records, and interviews with Ukrainian officials and relatives of the children, the FT identified and located four such children on the adoption website usynovite.ru.

 

The findings contribute to the growing body of evidence suggesting that Russia's actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Court, Ukrainian government officials, and legal experts have been scrutinizing these actions, particularly the forced deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children.

 

Among the identified children, one was found with a falsified Russian identity, including a new name and age that did not match their Ukrainian documentation. Another child was shown using a Russianized version of their Ukrainian name, with no mention of their true Ukrainian background. These children, aged between eight and fifteen, were taken from state care homes in regions of Ukraine that fell under Russian control during the invasion. They have been traced to locations in the Tula region near Moscow, the Orenburg region close to the Kazakh border, and occupied Crimea.

 

The investigation also referenced a New York Times report that confirmed an additional seventeen Ukrainian children on the adoption website, all from a children’s home in Kherson. This adds to the grim tally of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children who Ukrainian authorities estimate have been forcibly taken to Russia since the invasion began in February 2022. Many of these children are still missing.

 

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, accusing them of being criminally responsible for the unlawful deportation of children. The Kremlin has not responded to requests for comment but has consistently denied abducting children, claiming instead that the actions were for their protection—a claim contradicted by substantial evidence.

 

Putin has signed decrees facilitating the fast-track acquisition of Russian citizenship for Ukrainian children, further complicating efforts to return them. Ukrainian officials, charities, and the children’s relatives and guardians face significant challenges in tracking down and retrieving these children, a process that can take months and involve perilous journeys into Russia.

 

Families who have managed to bring their children back recount harrowing experiences of coercion, abuse, and forced assimilation into Russian culture. Children have been reported to suffer from verbal and physical abuse, forced to adopt Russian identities, and denied contact with their relatives. One mother, Svitlana Popova, described her heartbreak upon discovering that her daughter, abducted by Russian soldiers, had been given a forged birth certificate indicating a Russian origin.

 

Wayne Jordash, president of Global Rights Compliance, highlighted that forcibly transferring or deporting children is a war crime. When done as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population, as in Russia’s actions against Ukraine, these acts also qualify as crimes against humanity. He emphasized that changing children’s identities and putting them up for adoption demonstrates a clear criminal intent.

 

The Financial Times worked closely with the Ukrainian Child Rights Protection Centre (CRPC) to confirm the identities of the children. The CRPC, a state body, is awaiting further confirmation on two more children identified by the FT. The center is actively working with relatives to facilitate the return of these children to Ukraine.

 

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights, underscored that Russia's actions were premeditated, citing documents shared by Ukrainian officials that reveal Kremlin plans for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. These documents outline a "filtration" process devised ahead of the invasion.

 

Daria Herasymchuk, an adviser and commissioner for children’s rights to the President of Ukraine, characterized Russia’s actions as part of a “well-planned genocide policy.” She emphasized the scale of the crime, noting the large number of kidnapped children.

 

As of June 11, Ukraine has successfully returned at least 389 children from Russia, according to the president’s office. The efforts to return more children continue, with the CRPC and Ukraine’s human rights commissioner’s office working to confirm the identities of dozens more Ukrainian children flagged by the FT. One such child has been located, and plans are underway to bring them back to Ukraine.

 

Credit: Financial Times 2024-06-13

 

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[rudi49jr]

This is just a tiny, tiny tip of the iceberg of the evil that is the current Russian regime. 

[spidermike007]

No surprise here. I think it is a reflection of the current culture. It was destroyed over a century of callous and murderous leadership. Stalin, Lenin, Khruschev, now Putin. They have become somewhat savage and crude. No grace, no finesse, no courtesy. Rather uncivilized. My family was from Russia a few generations back. I used to ask my great-grandmother when she was still around, why they didn't teach us anything about the old country. She would give me this look, and tell me "the reason we never teach you about the place we came from, is because the place we came from was the most horrific country on earth, it was the most destitute, horrible, oppressive place and we were thrilled to finally get out of there and leave it behind. That's why we don't teach you about the old country, the old country doesn't exist for us. 

There are a multitude of reasons why very few around the world have sympathy for the Russians. Those reasons are not limited to their serial killing, despot, thieving multi billionaire dictator for life. It is more about their nature, their history as ruthless, homicidal Cossack warriors, and their total lack of manners, and class. Not to mention the dignity, class, decency, civility, and social skills decades of Leninism, Stalinism, and now Putinism has stripped them of. 
 
And of course, the utter failure of their leader. This is a clear case of psychological projection: Putin dreamt and failed to create a dollar-free world and establish Russia as an “energy superpower.” He allowed corruption to metastasize through the state’s fabric, undermining its security capabilities. With its mass emigration, skyrocketing divorce rate, and low fertility, Russia, more than the West, demonstrates an immense collapse of family and social values.

[Seppius]

Shocking, I hope they all get home safely when Putin's evil reign is over

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, Seppius said:

Shocking, I hope they all get home safely when Putin's evil reign is over

Unlikely. It's not just Putin that is responsible but the whole system and cultural history supported by Russian people.   

[candide]

It's strange that the usual Russian agents did not post to tell us that the children would be much more happy in a Russian family....

[billd766]

1 hour ago, candide said:

It's strange that the usual Russian agents did not post to tell us that the children would be much more happy in a Russian family....

Perhaps that lie is to big for even them to swallow and regurgitate.