Russian presidential aircraft and resources were reportedly utilized in a program that transferred children from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, stripped them of their Ukrainian identity, and placed them with Russian families, according to a Yale School of Public Health report.
The U.S. State Department-backed study, published Tuesday, identified 314 Ukrainian children relocated to Russia during the early months of the Ukraine war. The report alleges this was part of a Kremlin-funded program designed to "Russify" these children. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his child rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for alleged war crimes related to the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Lvova-Belova previously claimed her actions were humanitarian, aimed at protecting children in conflict zones. Her office and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to the report, first detailed by Reuters, new evidence links Putin directly to the deportation program. Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director of Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab, is set to present the findings to the U.N. Security Council, where the U.S. currently holds the presidency.
The study outlines a systematic program of forcible transfer—a crime against humanity under international law—by relocating children from one national and ethnic group to another. Raymond emphasized that the program's logistics, funding, and execution point to Kremlin-led efforts to naturalize Ukrainian children as Russian citizens.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the program on social media, calling for the return of Ukrainian children and the punishment of those responsible. Ukraine's prosecutor general described the program as a premeditated Kremlin policy supported by legislative changes, political decisions, and dedicated funding.
The Yale report forms part of a broader initiative by the Biden administration to document potential violations of international law by Russia. It highlights instances where Ukrainian children were subjected to pro-Russian propaganda and “patriotic re-education” in facilities across Russia. Reuters has separately documented the transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russian camps, the forced naturalization of Ukrainians, and Belarus's involvement in the program.
Lvova-Belova has disputed Kyiv's estimates that 19,500 children have been taken, stating that only 380 orphans and parentless children were placed with Russian families between April and October 2022. She has denied allegations of coercion, claiming parental consent was sought unless parents were missing.
The Yale research also uncovered details of how Russia transported children using military and government-managed aircraft. Between May and October 2022, Ukrainian children were flown on military transport planes, including a TU-154M managed by the 223rd Flight Squad of the Russian Defense Ministry. Flight tracking data corroborated these findings.
Of the 314 identified children, 166 were placed directly with Russian families, while others were listed in Russian child placement databases or held in institutions. The ICC has stated that the Yale report aids its ongoing investigations into Russia’s actions in Ukraine, though Russia, which does not recognize the ICC, has dismissed its warrants as irrelevant.
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