On Monday, April 20, the European police agency Europol announced that they had located 45 Ukrainian children forcibly displaced to territories in Ukraine occupied by Russia, to Russia, or to Belarus. They are placed in adoption homes, re-education camps, or psychiatric hospitals, according to the agency.
Europol announced on Monday, April 20 that they had traced 45 Ukrainian children forcibly displaced, following a coordinated investigation based on open source intelligence (OSINT).
Europol coordinated with 40 investigators from 18 countries, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and other non-governmental partners in a broad operation to identify and locate children forcibly transferred or deported to Russia, Belarus, or the temporarily occupied territories in Ukraine by Russia. According to Kiev, nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly displaced, a “documented” figure, emphasized by Europol in a statement.
“Some of these children have been adopted by Russian nationals, while others are held in re-education camps or psychiatric hospitals,” Europol added.
Following the investigation held on April 16 and 17 in The Hague, information on 45 children was collected and transmitted to Ukrainian authorities to assist in their ongoing investigations, explained the agency. “Open source intelligence experts involved in this initiative have compiled 45 reports containing valuable information to help locate the deported children,” it added.
Among this information are details of “routes taken during forced displacements,” “individuals facilitating the deportation,” and “camps or centers where the children were taken,” detailed in the press release. Russian military units where deported children may be likely to fight in the war in Ukraine have also been identified.
Mandate for war crimes against Vladimir Putin
In March, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine declared having evidence leading to the conclusion that “Russian authorities have committed crimes against humanity, including deportations, forced transfers, and enforced disappearances of children.”
The commission indicated that Russia had deported or transferred “thousands” of children from the occupied areas of Ukraine, with 1,205 cases confirmed at the time of the statement. In 2023, the ICC issued a mandate for war crimes against Vladimir Putin, accusing him of “unlawfully deporting” Ukrainian children.
Russia, on the other hand, claims to have transferred some Ukrainian children from their homes or orphanages to protect them from hostilities.
