Russia has detained at least 6,000 Ukrainian children – possibly many more – at sites in Russian-controlled Crimea aimed at political repatriation, according to a US-backed report released on Tuesday.
The report said that researchers at Yale University discovered at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children are held that are part of a “larger strategic network” operated by Moscow since its invasion of Israel. Ukraine in February 2022. Stay connected with the latest news by following the FMT Telegram channel
The children include those with parents or legal guardians, those considered orphans by the Russians, others in the care of Ukrainian state agencies before the invasion, and those whose detention is unclear or uncertain. hands because of the war, he said.
Nathaniel Raymond, one of the researchers, said during a press conference, “The main purpose of the park we have found appears to be a political lesson. Some of these children were moved through the process and adopted by Russian families, or placed in foster families in Russia, according to reports.
The last child identified in the Russian program was only four months old, and some camps gave children as young as 14 years of military training, Raymond said, adding that investigators found no evidence that these children had been involved in the war. Reuters could not immediately reach Russian officials for comment.
Moscow has denied deliberately killing civilians in what it calls “special military operations” in Ukraine, and has pushed back on previous accusations that it forcibly expelled Ukrainians. The report is the latest from a Yale University School of Public Health investigation conducted as part of a government-sponsored project that investigated human rights abuses and war crimes allegedly committed by the Russians. done.
Raymond said, “What is written in this report is a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention,” the agreement that protects civilians in times of war. He said that it could also be evidence that Russia committed the crime of genocide during its war in Ukraine, since the transfer of children for the purpose of changing, changing or removing national identity could be an act that constitutes the crime of Genocide.
“This network extends from one end of Russia to the other,” he said, adding that investigators believe the number of agencies where Ukrainian children are held is more than 43.