Russia denies abducting children and says it has evacuated them from war zones. Lvova-Belova has portrayed herself as rescuing Ukrainian children, and has publicly said she adopted a boy from Mariupol and raised him to become a “patriot.” In an interview cited by German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, she also said that 390 children had been flown to foster families in Russia after one operation.
Human rights experts suspect that these children are being subjected to re-education, including being forced to speak Russian instead of Ukrainian.
Di Rocco said the known cases are likely only a fraction of the total. “We don’t know the full scale of the phenomenon,” he said. The number, he added, is likely to be significantly higher than what Ukrainian authorities have documented.
Europol’s findings suggest some children have been placed with Russian families, while others have been sent to camps or institutions where they may be re-educated. In some cases, there are indications that older teenagers have been sent to the front lines.
“The only limit is our imagination,” Di Rocco said of the possible forms of exploitation.
Alexander Dinger is WELT’s investigations editor. Philipp Woldin is a reporter for WELT.
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