Yale researchers trace 148 stolen Ukrainian orphans in hacked Russian database

December 3, 2024

By Ukraine

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On 4 December, representatives from Ukraine’s government, along with Yale’s investigators, will appear before a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council and present new evidence to support charges that Russia has stolen Ukrainian children and forced them to take Russian identities, according to Scripps News.

A new report leveraged open-source intelligence and satellite imagery to identify Russian government aircraft allegedly used to transport Ukrainian orphans from Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine.

Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered this program, with its implementation overseen by senior officials within Russia’s federal government.

The report tracks 314 Ukrainian children, at least 67 of whom have reportedly been naturalized as Russian citizens, making them significantly harder to trace. However, the actual number of children involved is believed to be thousands.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on social media that the research serves as another substantial evidence of Russian war crimes against Ukraine and its people.

“This report shows the world Russia’s efforts to erase Ukrainian identity and its systematic policy in this regard.

Only together can we restore justice violated by Russia on such a scale, protect the future of Ukrainian children, and bring them home,” emphasized the Ukrainian president.

The program of forcibly adopting Ukrainian children, aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity through illegal changes in citizenship, is led by senior Russian officials, including Russian ruler Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, said Andrii Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office.

According to Yermak, the report by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab is the most comprehensive and credible analysis of Russia’s systematic program of forced adoption of Ukrainian children.

“The report indicates that top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, oversee the program aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity through illegal changes in citizenship, forced adoptions, and ‘re-education,’” Yermak stated.

The evidence collected has been submitted to the International Criminal Court, which had previously issued arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova for the illegal deportation of children.

Kyiv has called on the international community to demand that Russia provide full information about the deported children, ensure access to the places where they are held, and support efforts to return them to Ukraine.

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