As he continues to prosecute his illegal, brutal war against Ukraine, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been relentlessly targeting Ukraine’s civilian population, particularly its children.
One of the most egregious crimes committed by Russia against the Ukraine people is the kidnapping and transport of tens of thousands of children to Russia, Russian-occupied territory and Belarus, without the consent of family. They are children whose parents were killed in the invasion or arrested in by the authorities in Russian-held territories, children who were separated from their parents in an active war zone. Some were abducted from Ukrainian state institutions in occupied areas. Others were sent to children's camps for the summer by parents who believed the camps to be safety zones, but never saw their children again.
The abducted children are bombarded with propaganda, brainwashed, and even given military training. They are indoctrinated with pro-Russian beliefs even as they are subjected to a torrent of false information that strives to erase Ukraine’s distinct history, culture, and language.
In March 2023, having concluded that the abductions of Ukrainian children constituted war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights.
Last summer, the United States sanctioned two Russian entities and 11 individuals for transfer and deportation of Ukraine’s children to indoctrination camps.
And on August 24 of this year, the U.S. State Department sanctioned “Movement of the First,” a Russian state-led youth organization, and three of its leaders, for involvement in the attempted, forcible re-education of Ukraine’s children.
“Movement of the First” was created by Vladimir Putin in December 2022. Through its various programs, which include organized war games replicating and simulating battle situations, as well as learning to prepare battlefield equipment, this organization is re-educating Ukrainian children, including those deported to Russia illegally.
Children are the future, and a country that loses its children has no future. Vladimir Putin knows this. By erasing Ukraine’s cultural and historical knowledge from the minds of its children, Putin hopes to reshape its future to fit with his own ugly, twisted narrative.
He cannot be allowed to do that. The United States government will continue to support Ukraine as it defends its independence –and its children—from Russian aggression.
