Russians abducted 250 children from occupied Melitopol, adopting them to “new families” in Russia – authorities

Russians kidnaped 250 children from occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, likely to adopt them to "new families" in Russia, Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov reported.

“The enemy stole 250 children from the temporarily occupied territory and allegedly found them 'new families' in Russia. It will be difficult to return these children after de-occupation,” Fedorov said.

According to the mayor, Russians took about 1,000 Ukrainian children from the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast to camps, allegedly for rehabilitation.

“However, we clearly understand that this "vacation" is not about recovery, but about propaganda,” Fedorov noted.

Earlier, the chairman of the international committee in the Russian Federation Council, Grigory Karasin, revealed that Russians had brought about 700,000 Ukrainian children from the occupied territories to Russia since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014.

Belarus Red Cross involved in kidnapping Ukrainian children

In April 2023, PACE recognized the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide. The PACE called on the International Criminal Court to consider the possibility of prosecuting those responsible for this crime.

Read also:

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• PACE recognizes forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide