Intel uncovers scheme to abduct Ukrainian orphans from occupied territories
Illustrative photo: Russia takes children from occupied territories under the pretext of "health rehabilitation" (Getty Images)
Children from an orphanage in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region were taken to Russia over the summer allegedly for health rehabilitation, but at least two of them were not returned home, according to Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, this summer, children from an orphanage in the Russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region were taken to Russia. The official reason given for the trip was health rehabilitation.
However, not all of the children returned after the trip. At least two of them were placed under guardianship and taken to the Moscow region.
Their whereabouts and fate are currently being established.
How the scheme works
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service says that taking children away under the pretext of health rehabilitation is part of an established scheme. Such trips may also be organized under the pretexts of vacations, rehabilitation, or participation in cultural and educational activities.
Some of the children are then not returned to Ukraine.
According to the intelligence service, the trips involve occupation administrations, Russian guardianship authorities, and organizers of the transfers.
After arriving in Russia, the children come under the control of local authorities. They may determine the children's subsequent place of residence and legal status.
Thus, a trip initially presented as temporary may in fact result in a child being relocated to another Russian region and placed under guardianship.
Intelligence service points to a broader problem
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service emphasizes that this is not an isolated case. According to the service, Russia has developed a system for exploiting Ukrainian children that has both state and criminal dimensions.
The intelligence service says the state dimension includes, among other things, involving children in labor at defense industry enterprises and possible recruitment by Russian intelligence agencies.
Among the criminal forms of exploitation, the Foreign Intelligence Service lists human trafficking, sexual exploitation, illegal organ transplantation, and other crimes.
Earlier, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Russia uses schools in temporarily occupied territories for the ideological indoctrination of children.
Starting September 1, 2026, students in grades 5-7 there were required to take a course titled History of Our Region. Donbas and Novorossiya, which, according to Lubinets, is intended to impose Russian imperial myths.
