The transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia is intended to instill a pro-Moscow vision and even military training, according to a report that estimates that more than 6,000 children are placed in 43 re-education camps or orphanages.
According to the report Russia’s Systematic Program for the Re-education and Adoption of Children from Ukraine, published in February by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Laboratory (HRL), the study presents “evidence indicating possible violations of international law.” and findings that most of the camps are involved in “pro-Russian re-education efforts” and some have even provided “military training for children” or suspended delivery to their parents in Ukraine.
Produced as part of the Conflict Observatory, the report states, some of the centers are pre-existing summer camps located along the Black Sea, in annexed Crimea and mainland Russia, including Moscow, eleven of which are more than 800 kilometers from each other. the Ukrainian border, two in far Siberia and one in the far east of the country.
“The primary purpose of the camps appears to be political re-education,” with at least 32 (78%) of the camps using “systematic re-education efforts that expose Ukrainian children to Russia-focused academic, cultural, patriotic, and cultural activities.” and/or military education”, with a view to integrating them into the Russian Government’s vision of national culture, history and society.
Yale HRL identified at least two camps housing allegedly orphaned children who were later placed with foster families in Russia. Twenty children were handed over to families in the Moscow province and enrolled in local schools.
In the report, a key word is the coercion of the parents for the children to be transferred, including the signatures by proxy, in other cases there were complaints of violation of the periods of stay and procedures for the reunification with the children, and the refusals parental. they were basically ignored.
“In many cases, the ability of parents to provide meaningful consent may be considered doubtful, as conditions of war and the implicit threat from occupying forces pose conditions of coercion,” the document highlights.
The return of children from at least four camps has been suspended or they are detained after their scheduled date, the document continues, with parents also describing being unable to obtain information on the status or whereabouts of their children.
Despite pointing to 6,000 children transferred, the report admits that the number could be much higher, without knowing how many were returned, in an operation that began shortly after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, in which “all levels of government in Russia are involved” and centrally coordinated by Moscow.
In reaching these conclusions, Yale HRL used aggregation and cross-checking from multiple sources to understand the system of placements, centers, re-education, adoptions, and foster care, including social media, government advertisements and publications, and website reporting. , in addition to the geolocation of the facilities through photographs, videos and descriptions of Ukrainian children in the place and their experiences, as well as their parents, as well as high-resolution satellite images.
In addition to the transfer and creation of re-education centers, Ukrainian children are also becoming part of Russian propaganda.
At a recent rally to celebrate the army, in a Moscow stadium, a 13-year-old Ukrainian girl living in Mariupol, a city taken over by Russian troops about a year ago, appeared onstage crying, thanking him for being saved by the army. occupation forces. .
The CNN International station wanted to know more about the story of Anna Naumenko, or simply, Anya, who lost her mother in the siege of Mariupol, speaking with a friend, with whom she shared shelter in an underground shelter for three months now. the one who questions her the security conditions in which she will live, after being handed over to a foster family, and suggesting that she was a victim of coercion.
“I was afraid to see that. They can’t use children like that,” said Katerina Pustovit, who now lives in Germany. Anya’s family refused to comment out of fear, and Moscow officials did not respond to questions from CNN.
Source: TSF
