Russia allegedly maintains a database of Ukrainian children labeled as "orphans," some of whom have been abducted, and is reportedly treating these children inhumanely.
In a shocking revelation, an online catalog listing 294 Ukrainian children for adoption has been uncovered, sparking accusations of state-sponsored child trafficking. This database, which resembles a "slave catalog" according to Ukrainian NGO Save Ukraine, is operated by Russian occupation authorities in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.
The catalog, hosted by the education department of the Russian-installed administration in Luhansk, includes photos, names, ages, and personality descriptions of children up to 17 years old. It allows users to search for children by age, gender, eye color, hair color, and character traits such as obedient or calm.
Most of these children were born in Luhansk before the Russian occupation and held Ukrainian citizenship. Many were forcibly taken from their families, with some parents killed by Russian forces, while others had their documents altered to legitimize the children’s abduction.
Ukrainian officials estimate that Russia has abducted tens of thousands of Ukrainian children since the full-scale invasion in 2022. Many of these children face forced adoption into Russian families, ideological indoctrination, and loss of Ukrainian identity.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the illegal transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children. Lvova-Belova is accused of overseeing the stripping of Ukrainian children's identities and placing them in Russian homes.
One such child is Illia, an 11-year-old boy who was deported from Mariupol by Lvova-Belova. Illia dreams of becoming a doctor to help fighters on the frontline as a combat medic. He was injured by shrapnel from a Russian missile strike that killed his mother and was taken for surgery at a camp in Donestk without anesthesia, forced to speak Russian and repeat "Glory to Ukraine as part of Russia."
Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets described the treatment of abducted children as genocide and a brutal campaign to erase Ukraine's future. The Bring Kids Back Ukraine initiative has so far rescued nearly 700 minors, but thousands remain missing.
Campaigners, Yale researchers, UN experts, and legal bodies have said the deportations could amount to war crimes. The catalogue, run by Luhansk's so-called Ministry of Education and Science, which is part of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, a Russian-installed regime in territory internationally recognized as Ukrainian, is seen as a mechanism for forced transfer of children under the guise of adoption or foster care.
Ukrainian NGOs have called for global action to stop this practice. The catalogue can be searched by factors such as hair color, eye color, personality, age, gender, health, and physical traits, suggesting deliberate digital trafficking. The treatment of these children is widely condemned internationally as a violation of children's rights and international law.
- The shocking discovery of an online catalog listing Ukrainian children for adoption has triggered worldwide condemnation, marking a significant event in the realm of general news, politics, and crime-and-justice.
- The catalog, operative by Russian authorities in war-and-conflicts zones like the Luhansk region, raises concerns about state-sponsored child trafficking, highlighting the urgency for global political action to protect these children's rights and prevent future atrocities.
