Ukrainian intelligence uncovers crucial evidence of child abductions by Russia
Photo: Ukrainian Defense Intelligence received evidence of the deportation of Ukrainian children (Getty Images)
Cyber specialists from Ukraine's Defense Intelligence have obtained evidence of the mass abduction of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories. Hackers gained access to the servers of the so-called government of Crimea, the press service of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence reports.
The servers of the occupying authorities in Crimea contained documentation confirming the forcible relocation of children from the occupied territories of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence specialists accessed several thousand lists of deported children, personal records of abducted children who were left without guardians, illegal decisions assigning new guardians to orphaned children, guardians who are Russian citizens, as well as addresses of the new residences and settlements of the kidnapped Ukrainian children.
"Thousands of files containing invaluable information for justice about one of Russia's largest war crimes, the abduction of Ukrainian children, have already been handed over to law enforcement," said Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Representative Andrii Yusov.
The obtained evidence will be analyzed and added to ongoing criminal proceedings. According to Yusov, the information will help locate and return abducted children to Ukraine and bring those responsible for the crime to justice.
Deportation of Ukrainian children
Earlier, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets reported that Russia had deported more than 19,000 children from Ukraine. According to Lubinets, there is also a risk of deportation for another 1.5 million children who remain in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
In addition, Ukraine has launched an initiative to create a registry of children deported by Russia.
A few days ago, three more Ukrainian children were successfully returned from the occupied territories and Russia.
Back in 2022, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children.
