Kremlin's Coercive Russification: Ukrainian Children Transported to Russia

A Yale report alleges that a Kremlin-funded program systematically took 314 Ukrainian children from occupied territories for Russification. The U.S. State Department-backed research links Russian President Putin to the program. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Putin for related war crimes.

A report from Yale's School of Public Health claims that a Kremlin-financed program relocated 314 Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia, stripping them of their Ukrainian identity and placing them with Russian families. The research, backed by the U.S. State Department, is said to link Russian President Vladimir Putin to the operation, aimed at 'Russifying' these children.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and his commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, on charges of deporting Ukrainian children. The recent findings, slated for presentation to the U.N. Security Council, seek to provide further evidence to potentially bolster charges against Putin for crimes against humanity.

The Yale report is part of a broader initiative to document violations of international law by Russia in Ukraine. The controversy underscores allegations of 'pro-state propaganda' and 'patriotic re-education' imposed on children, with logistical details and identities confirmed through Russian government databases.

(With inputs from agencies.)