Ukraine repatriates nearly 2,000 children deported by Russia

Ukraine has successfully returned nearly 2,000 illegally deported Ukrainian children from Russia, human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reported, according to Suspilne.

As of Dec. 10, Ukraine had repatriated 1,902 children who were either deported by Russia or forcibly transferred from temporarily occupied territories without parental consent.

According to Lubinets, some children were forcibly moved deeper into Russia or placed in Russian institutions. Others were separated from their families, had their documents changed, and were pressured to integrate into Russian society as part of a systemic and broad policy to erase their Ukrainian identity.

Most of the children who have been returned are teenagers who can assert their Ukrainian identity, Lubinets said. Returning very young children is much more difficult.

“It is extremely difficult to bring back very young children. A teenager can at least say, ‘I am Ukrainian. I don’t want to side with Russia.’ It is far harder for the Russians to brainwash them. But with small children, it is much easier for Russia to impose their identity,” the ombudsman said.

Currently, there is no official mechanism to determine exactly how many Ukrainian children were forcibly taken, Lubinets added.

However, the United Nations says approximately 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly abducted.

Lubinets also said that Ukrainian children in Russia are forced to speak only Russian and are pressured to adopt a Russian identity.