“It’s an absolutely terrible story,” Petro Andryushenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, who was investigating forced displacements, told AP news agency.
Andryushenko says hundreds of children have been deported from his hometown alone. It is also unclear whether they are orphans. “We don’t know if these children have a parent or in-laws because they were forcibly taken away by Russian troops.”
Grow in peace
It is difficult to give precise figures on how many Ukrainian children are involved in total. Ukraine keeps it at nearly 8,000. Russian media regularly report children who have been transferred by military aircraft.
In March, at the beginning of the war, the Russian Children’s Ombudsman denounced 1,000 children. According to her, in Russia they can grow up peacefully and happily.
“Remember that this is very positive for the image of the Kremlin,” says Russian correspondent Eva Hartog. “Russia has labeled this war a liberation mission from the very beginning, but there are no images of people cheering to welcome Russian soldiers.”
Propagandamiddel
That’s why you see pictures of innocent children being cared for, says Hartog. “This leaves its own people that Russia is doing something right. It creates an image of Russia as a savior, a country that is helping people.”
It is a conscious policy, which is known at the highest level. Russian law prohibits the adoption of foreign children. But in May, Putin signed a decree that would make it easier for Russia to accept and give citizenship to Ukrainian children without parental responsibility.
According to Bart Tromp, a juvenile judge and teacher of juvenile law at the University of Groningen, it is an illogical step to directly qualify children as orphans and hand them over. “Adoption is really a far-reaching step, then you have to be sure that the parents are gone. In a crisis situation like this, you start with temporary measures first.”
Olga’s adopted children
The adopted children of Ukrainian Olga Lopatkina were also about to be deported to Russia. These have been stressful months for her. She made frantic efforts to get them back. She and her husband have six children in custody.
When the war broke out, the foster children were in a holiday camp in Mariupol. Her 17-year-old son accompanied her. Due to the violence, they were unable to return and were trapped in the occupied territory.
Olga feared she would never see her son and her adopted children again. Her son was almost old enough to be recruited. The younger adopted children were about to go to a Russian orphanage and from there to their new Russian parents.
Finally, after two months of negotiations and thanks to the help of the SOS Children’s Villages foundation, the children were able to return. They have now returned with their mother through Russia, Latvia and Germany.
Forced deportation
Children from foster families or orphans are a vulnerable group, says Hartog. “That weakness is being exploited by Russia.” The same phenomenon does not only affect children. Adult residents of eastern Ukraine were also forcibly deported to Russia. These are much larger numbers.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch investigated e found evidence of filtration fieldsestablished by the Russians. The data of thousands of Ukrainians were recorded and then they were deported to Russia. Human Rights Watch talks about violating the laws of war and could be a crime against humanity. This also includes forced adoption.
