Russia forcibly transferred at least 314 Ukrainian children to Russian families: new Yale Lab report

On December 3, 2024, the Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab published its third report, “Russia’s Systematic Program of Coerced Adoption and Fostering of Ukraine’s Children“, which reveals details of the systematic adoption programme in Russia of deported Ukrainian children.

The systemic policy of the Russian authorities

the forcible transfer of guardianship and adoption is a system and planned policy of the Russian Federation. Russia has been preparing its legal system to make this possible, making it more efficient for children to obtain Russian citizenship, and after the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories to Russia, “temporary guardianship” began to turn into adoption. This policy was initiated by Putin and his subordinates to “Russify” Ukrainian children and is being implemented by a number of Russian state bodies in close cooperation with the occupation authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk. Key roles are also played by the Commissioner for Children’s Rights Mariia Lvova-Bielova, Deputy Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia Party as well as Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Anna Kuznietsova of the Ministry of Education of the RF, etc.

Onysiia Syniuk, Legal Analyst of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, said that this research once again confirms the planned and systematic nature of Russia’s policy of changing the national identity of Ukrainian children and turning them into Russians.

“For this purpose, Russia changed its own legislation, simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship, and by extending its legal system to the occupied territories after their illegal incorporation into the RF, in fact, treated Ukrainian children as Russian children. No humanitarian considerations can justify the transfer of Ukrainian children to the territory of the RF, the imposition of Russian citizenship on them, the registration of children in state databases for adoption and the transfer of these children to Russian families for guardianship and adoption. The fact that there is no information about the Ukrainian origin of these children, and that ‘temporary guardianship’ turns into adoption only further indicates criminal intentions and attempts to conceal the crime. Equally important is the focus on responsible persons and bodies and their direct role in implementing the policy,” she stressed.

Facts and figures in the report

The report by the Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab provides a detailed overview of the large-scale system of forced deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia. The study is based on a thorough analysis of documents, testimonies and Russian databases.

Thus, the researchers were able to identify at least 314 Ukrainian children who have been transferred to Russian families under the policy of forced transfer to guardianship and adoption since February 2022. 148 of the total number of children were registered in Russian databases for adoption, and 42 children have already been transferred to guardianship or adoption. At least 67 of the 314 children were imposed Russian citizenship after being deported to the RF.

The report states that the children were taken to at least 21 regions of Russia, where they were transferred to families of Russian citizens or childcare facilities.

At the same time, the researcher clarifies that 314 children are not the final number of children who were subjected to the policy of forced transfer to guardianship or adoption, as it was not possible to fully review all the profiles of children in the adoption databases, as well as to investigate in depth all potential cases.

International crimes

The deportation and forced adoption of Ukrainian children constitute a gross violation of international humanitarian law and may be qualified as war crimes and crimes against humanity. These actions alone do not constitute direct evidence of genocide, but in combination with other crimes may give rise to charges under the Rome Statute.

The Human Rights Centre ZMINA calls on the international community to increase pressure on Russia to return all abducted Ukrainian children home. The initiative of the President of Ukraine Bring Kids Back UA is leading the fight for their return and reunification with their families.

“This report should be the beginning of the search for Ukrainian children in the Russian system of guardianship and adoption, as the authors themselves emphasise that 314 children is not the final figure, and the beginning of new charges,” Onysiia Syniuk said.

As a reminder, on October 10, 2024, the report “Stolen Childhood: How the Belarusian Regime is Erasing Ukrainian Children’s Identity through Displacement, October 2024 Re-education, and Militarization” was presented in Kyiv, revealing details of Belarus’ involvement and complicity in Russian crimes. In particular, the document states that at least 2219 Ukrainian children from the occupied territories were transferred to the territory of Belarus from 2021 to June 2024. Moreover, Aleksandr Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, personally laid the groundwork for the deportation of Ukrainian children and the criminal policy of militarisation and eradication of Ukrainian identity. Human rights defenders called for the arrest of those responsible for these crimes.

The research was conducted by the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, the Regional Centre for Human Rights, the human rights organisation Viasna and BelPol with the support of Freedom House.

You can read the new report by the Yale Humanities Research Lab in Ukrainian and English languages.