“Whatever the form of placement, Ukrainian children find themselves in an entirely Russian environment, including language, customs and religion and are exposed to [a] pro-Russian information campaign often amounting to targeted re-education as well as being involved in military education,” the OSCE said in
a recent report. “
Through the help of her daughter’s friends and classmates who had smartphones, Galkina was able to find Liza on social media. Liza now had a Russian cell phone operator and had been offered Russian citizenship, which she refused. After spending another eight months in Genichesk, far from her mother and her home in Kherson, the unthinkable happened: “They proclaimed her an orphan,” Galkina recalled.
One night, one of the girls in their dorm fell out of the fifth-floor window. After that, they were no longer allowed to open the windows to let in fresh air. Liza and Nastya never discovered how the girl fell or what happened to her afterward.
“At the same time, Russia indeed returns a small percentage of the kidnapped kids to legitimize itself as a savior,” said Rashevska. “Those parents who manage to get to their kids can go home only after they thank the Russian Federation for saving their kids in front of Russian propagandists waiting for them in a special room.” For some parents, the journey to their children’s arms involves up to 12 hours of intense interrogation by the FSB intelligence services. Some are questioned to uncover the identities of those aiding them in their quest to retrieve their children, only to be dispatched back to Ukraine empty-handed.
“Putin has repeatedly emphasized the demographic problem,” Rashevska said, adding that recent government reports note a rise in population in the regions where Ukrainians are being sent. “Ukrainian children are welcomed in Russia,” she said. “They are white, they share the same religion, and similar culture and speak Russian. Russian families adopt them happily, motivated by the benefits the Russian system offers for that.”
Ahead of an expected counteroffensive by Ukraine, Russian authorities in the occupied part of the southern Zaporizhzhia region are again abducting children, according to Ukrainian officials. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of the city of Melitopol,
said Russians are taking Ukrainian kids to education camps. “This is another attempt to ‘brainwash them’ and on occasion to turn the little ones into human shields and bargaining chips,” Fedorov said in a Telegram statement.
Rather than facilitate Denys’ release, the Russians simply deported Olga to Belarus. There, she endured another day of interrogation by the Belarusian KGB before being unceremoniously expelled and left to fend for herself in Minsk. She was forced to appeal to a local Red Cross branch for assistance to reach Ukraine.
In a bid to keep Denys in Russia, the Russians offered him citizenship, along with a certificate for an apartment and an education in Moscow. “They offered him a prospect of a better life,” Olga said. “But I am afraid they lied to him, and instead of education, he will be summoned to the Russian army. Denys turns 18 only in three months.”
@MaksymZhorin
️ Viime päivinä 3. panssariprikaatimme on onnistunut etenemään lähellä Bakhmutia, nyt turvaamme vihollisen vangitsemia paikkoja.
