Russian Forces have Seized and Taken to Russia 5100 Ukrainian Orphans, Herasymchuk Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 20 – In a crime that cannot fail to stir the conscience of the world, Russian military units since Vladimir Putin began his expanded war against Ukraine in February have seized and taken to Russia 5100 Ukrainian orphans and other Ukrainian children who have become separated from their parents, according to Daria Herasymchuk.

            Because Ukraine does not have access to them, the advisor to the Ukrainian president on the rights of children says, she and her colleagues have handed over the list to the Red Cross and other groups that may be able to help get the children returned to their homeland and their families (radiosvoboda.org/a/news-dity-rf-deportatsiya/31954976.html).

            This is a small subset of the 234,000 Ukrainian children whom Russian forces have seized and taken to Ukraine, Herasymchuk says. Moscow is placing these children in the homes of Russian parents obviously hopeful that this will be sufficient to Russianize and Russify them and thus cut them off from their Ukrainian heritage (rg.ru/2022/07/15/mariia-lvova-belova-semi-iz-shesti-regionov-rf-vozmut-pod-opeku-108-detej-sirot-iz-donbassa.html).