A total of 307 children have so far been brought back from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, the country’s Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. Kyiv confirmed that more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia.

Different Russian sources, however, have reported much higher figures, as high as 400,000. Russian propaganda claims that these children have been “rescued”.

Around 17 thousand Ukrainian children were kidnapped by russians. Only 307 were returned back. A tragedy of enormous scale #GenocideOfUkrainians #devastating pic.twitter.com/lWzl1Pyk9T

— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) March 7, 2023

“Rescuing” children

According to Ukrainian authorities and accounts from victims of Russian aggression, children are taken from their parents (often becoming orphans as a direct result of Russian military action), taken to Russia, where they are then put up for “adoption,” in violation of international law. The Russians also deport children from state-run care centres.

Human rights activist K. Rashevska states Russians change personal info and add age to abducted Ukrainian children, making them hard to find and return. Russia sends children to "re-education camps of Russification, militarization, and indoctrination." https://t.co/X1talyBodI

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) February 25, 2023

Adoption cannot take place during or immediately after emergencies, Afshan Khan, Director, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, said last June. Khan stressed that “any relocation of children must take place solely in their interest, and with the voluntary consent of their parents.” Children who have been forcibly removed from Ukraine cannot be considered orphans.

Sasha

One of the children brought back from occupied territories is eight-year-old Sasha, who was recently rescued and reunited with his grandmother.

The Ukrainian human rights ombudsman said on Telegram that Sasha’s grandmother turned to the ombudsman’s office in late February for help in recovering her grandson from the occupied territories. The boy was successfully brought back and is now safe.

Currently, the Ukrainian government’s Children of War website reports that 1,621 children have been deported and 307 brought into the country. According to these figures, at least 464 children were killed and 931 injured as a result of Russian aggression. 356 children were declared missing by police.