Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine have created an online “catalogue” of Ukrainian children being put up for adoption, according to reports over the past week.
The platform, hosted on the education department’s website of the Russian occupation administration in Luhansk Oblast, lists 294 children, filtered by age, gender, eye and hair colour, and personality traits.
One listing describes a 14-year-old girl as “kind, modest” and fond of dancing. Another advertises a boy as “calm, responsive” and interested in drawing, puzzles, and sports. Others are characterised as disciplined, obedient, non-conflictive, or reliable in completing tasks.
Mykola Kuleba, CEO of the Save Ukraine organisation, said most of the children were born in Luhansk. “Parents of some of them were killed by occupation authorities, others were simply issued Russian identification documents to legitimise their abduction,” he said, calling it “child trafficking in the 21st century.”
Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab estimates that around 35,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported since the war began in 2022. Just over 1,350 have been returned, with mediation from countries including Qatar and South Africa.
The lab’s executive director has said this is “likely” the largest child abduction in a war since World War II.
Whether Luhansk authorities are acting independently or under direct Russian orders is unclear. The return of abducted children remains one of Ukraine’s key demands in any peace talks.
(This article was written by Tisya Sharma, she is an intern at StratNewsGlobal)
