35,000 Ukrainian children still missing; likely held in Russia
What's the story
An estimated 35,000 Ukrainian children are still missing and believed to be detained in Russia or Russian-occupied territories, according to a team of American experts. The Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab has been studying the abductions and fears that many kids have been sent to military camps or adopted by Russian families. Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the lab, likened it to "the largest child abduction in war since World War II."
Personal ordeal
One mother's harrowing tale of rescuing her children
One Ukrainian mother, Natalia, shared her experience of rescuing her two teenage sons from a Russian camp, The Guardian reported. After Russian forces took over her city, Kherson, in September 2022, she sent her sons to a children's camp in Anapa on the Black Sea coast. When Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson in late 2022, Russia refused to return the children without Natalia's presence.
Adoption concerns
Fears that abducted kids could be lost in adoption system
Activists fear many abducted children could be lost in Russia's adoption system, where laws were recently changed to allow Ukrainian children to be adopted by Russian nationals. Daria Kasyanova, chair of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network, warned that if a parent is arrested or dies in the occupied territory, their child risks being put into an orphanage and becoming "basically impossible to get back."
Legal action
ICC has issued arrest warrants against Putin
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in 2023 against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, for the "war crime" of unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. The return of these children is a major demand for Ukraine in peace negotiations. Ksenia, an evacuation specialist with Helping to Leave, emphasized, "We are discussing territories—and our people, our children, are our territories."