Atrocities of russian aggression: the systematic deportation of Ukrainian children 

Authors: YEAs Moritz Clauder, Nico Preikschat, Nilufar Ibrahimi and Dominik Sujka

At the end of January, a group of five Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) from the EU/UK Chapter were invited to attend an important event at the US Embassy in Berlin. United by their shared commitment to supporting Ukraine, the YEAs were engaged in a discussion about the research on russia’s^[1] systematic deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children.  

The research presentation was led by Caitlin Howarth, Director of Operations of the Conflict Observatory team based at the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University and Dr. Susan Wolfinbarger, Bureau Chief Geospatial Information Officer in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations and representative from the US State Department. Supported by the US State Department, Caitlin Howarth and her team at Yale University have devoted their experiences in open-source investigation techniques and geospatial imaging to help expose russian war crimes, particularly the deportation of Ukrainian children. 

Over the next two hours, Howarth shared with us the disturbing results of her team’s research findings and outlined ways in which the international community could collaboratively address these issues. 

Research findings: another war crime

The central finding of the research reports was that russia’s efforts to deport and re-educate Ukrainian children are “systematic, widespread and pre-planned”. As of February 2023, the reports estimate that over 6,000 children are in russian custody and the number has likely increased since then. 

Howarth explained how this process manifests itself: first, Ukrainian children, particularly those living in temporarily occupied territories, are taken from their families without, or with insufficient, consent, allegedly to places where they are to be ‘taken care of’, like summer camps or hospitals. This includes children from all age groups, and the research found that children with disabilities were particularly targeted. In these facilities, of which there are at least 43 in russian-controlled territory and 13 in Belarus, the children undergo intense re-education. This involves active attempts to erase their Ukrainian identity through forced russification such as renaming the children with russian names, exposing them to intense russian propaganda, and placing them for adoption by russian families. In some cases, children, possibly as young as 12-14, are being sent to military facilities throughout russia to undergo military training. Instances have been documented, in which those reaching the age of 18 are then conscripted into the russian military and sent to the front lines.

These children are often told that their ‘Ukrainian families didn’t want them’ which is not the truth, as many Ukrainian families, particularly mothers and grandmothers, are actively fighting to locate their children and bring them home as quickly as possible. Howarth was particularly concerned by the huge psychological impact that russia’s actions have on the children. There are many ways that russia makes it difficult for Ukrainian families to reclaim their children, such as by consistently moving them to other facilities so they are difficult to locate. There have been several documented attempts by Ukrainian children trying to escape captivity, some of which have been successful, but most escapes depend on the support of local activists and supporters abroad. Efforts to rescue Ukrainian children have led the Ukrainian government to establish the Bring Back Kids UA programme in December 2023, which outlines the children’s’ resocialisation, and documents russian crimes with the aim to present the cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC), builds inter-parliamentary cooperation, and strengthens public outreach on these issues. This also reflects the objectives of the Conflict Observatory’s research which are not only to educate, but also to hold accountability. Howarth explained the importance that their evidence meets the standards needed to qualify for use in a future legal case against russia.

The scale and extent of these deportations cannot be understated. They obscurely mobilise the russian political system, support from the Belarusian government, shared Union state funds, and the legal system. Howarth compared the structure to an organised crime syndicate in which actors knowingly breach international humanitarian law and cover their tracks to obscure responsibility. For example, to help facilitate these crimes, russia has amended local laws in areas near the borders, in an attempt to ‘legalise’ their actions. The authorities have changed the laws so that no questions are asked if a child appears traveling through these areas with adults that are not family members, and have enabled ‘fast-track’ adoption procedures. 

Howarth then concluded her presentation with a poignant line that stuck with the audience: “russia is taking children hostage and using them as leverage. That is a war crime.” Next, the floor was opened for questions from the audience. Grappling with the horrors of what they had heard, the YEAs used this opportunity to ask insightful questions about the role of Belarusian authorities in the deportation of Ukrainian children, and whether the geospatial imaging tools used in the research reports could be repurposed to help track Ukrainian children and assist their families in identifying and reclaiming them. Howarth explained that the deported children are often isolated from public view, making it almost impossible to track them. She explained that the children are usually transported via trains, regardless of the distance, and along the journey, do not stay in hotels or places where they could raise attention or be easily spotted. 

When asking our questions, we were very grateful that Caitlin Howarth responded with such willingness to engage with us, particularly given our relatively young age and position as students and early career researchers. We were very pleased to have contributed to the discussion. When wrapping up the event, the YEAs enjoyed a short personal exchange with Caitlin Howarth. She encouraged us to continue developing our research skills, further explore different methodologies like geospatial imagery, and consider how we can use different tools to contribute to the detection of war crimes. The event reconfirmed our strong commitment to raising awareness about the impacts of russia’s aggression against Ukraine and our enduring support for Ukrainian victory.  

A dark and brutal reality

While we were honoured to be invited to such an important discussion, the crimes we learned about were deeply disturbing and difficult to process. Although we had prepared ourselves beforehand by reading the Conflict Observatory research reports, the speaker’s words confronted us with the dark and brutal reality brought about by russian aggression. This is a reality in which thousands of Ukrainian children are being ripped away from their loved ones, sent hundreds of miles away, having their Ukrainian identities erased, and their futures plunged into uncertainty. Moments like these remind us of the importance of our role as Young European Ambassadors and the duty that we have to educate ourselves and those around us about injustices. We will amplify the voices and stories of Ukrainian children, so that they will never be forgotten and will continue advocating for their safe and immediate return home. 

You can inform yourself further on this topic by reading the reports of the Conflict Observatory or by watching the documentary “Uprooted” by The Kyiv Independent.

^[1] Throughout this blog post, we will not capitalise the country “russia” or its adjective “russian”. This is one of many ways that people show support for Ukraine through written language. The atrocities committed by russia and its supporters call for its non-recognition and isolation from the international community; hence, the symbolic choice to use an uncapitalised “r”. It also serves as a reminder that we will not allow russian aggression in Ukraine to be normalised by the international community.