Detained, deported and brainwashed: How Moscow ‘Russifies’ Ukrainian children

euronews (in English)

The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab released a new report on Russia's coerced adoption of Ukrainian children. According to it, Moscow launched the programme together with its all-out invasion, pointing to crimes against humanity.

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00:00Taking from homes, detained for months and subjected to intense propaganda before coerced

00:07adoption, a new report by Yale School of Public Health has shed light on Russia's forceful

00:12deportation of Ukrainian children.

00:15The researchers identified 314 Ukrainian children adopted by Russian families and placed into

00:20institutions initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he subordinates the operation

00:26is intended to russify children from Ukraine.

00:29Yesterday, our team released.

00:31The way it works is there's three interconnected databases, one of which is directly run by

00:36the Ministry of Education.

00:38After the September annexation of area occupied by Russia, they moved the children from midpoints,

00:47basically safe houses where they had held them for six months, and then placed them

00:51in the database.

00:53While in those midpoints, Ukrainian children had to undergo forced reeducation, Raymond

00:58explained, adding that it amounts to indoctrination.

01:02That includes for older boys, military training, including vehicle operation, weapons operation,

01:09parachute jumping.

01:12And then for younger children, it includes indoctrination in Russian narratives, singing

01:17Russian songs and being prohibited from speaking Ukrainian.

01:22In March of last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir

01:26Putin and Maria Lvova Belova for their actions and involvement in the unlawful deportation

01:30of Ukrainian children.

01:32Your report says the Kremlin launched this program in the first weeks of 2022 in tandem

01:37with its preparation for its all-out invasion of Ukraine.

01:41Evidence that we provide in this report, we provided through direct transfer to the International

01:46Criminal Court, is clear evidence of alleged crimes against humanity.

01:53And now it is up to the ICC and other jurisdictions to decide whether they want to charge.

01:59We've given them all the information we have, and we believe the case is clear.

02:04The situation might get even worse as around 1.5 million Ukrainian children who still live

02:10in occupied areas of Ukraine remain at high risk of being forcefully deported to Russia.

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