The latest news on Russia and Ukraine. A new report from the ISW alleges that Russia has institutionalized a program to abduct Ukrainian children from occupied territories, aiming to erase their national identity and integrate them into Russian society.
The research alleges that Moscow had planned the mass relocation and forced assimilation of Ukrainian minors even before its full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting orphans and vulnerable minors from occupied regions. Ukrainian officials estimate at least 20,000 children have been taken, though the real number is expected to be much higher.
Many of these minors end up in re-education camps across Russia, subjected to ideological indoctrination and stripped of their Ukrainian identities through forced adoption. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Putin's Children's Rights Commissioner, though Moscow denies any wrongdoing.
Read the full report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) here.