During his official visit to Austria, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that Russia had proposed exchanging abducted Ukrainian children for captured Russian soldiers—a proposal he firmly rejected, as was reported on June 16.
Speaking at a joint press conference [...], Zelenskyy stated: “We do not exchange them for anything. It is absolutely unfair. Frankly speaking, this is madness, which the Russians, by the way, proposed: we give them military personnel, and they give us children.” The Ukrainian president emphasized that such exchanges are legally and morally unacceptable, underscoring that kidnapped children are victims of Russian aggression, not subjects of negotiation.
Zelenskyy further stressed that Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children constitutes a war crime. The International Criminal Court has previously issued arrest warrants for Russian officials, including leader Vladimir Putin, over the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia. Kyiv estimates that over 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Earlier, Ukraine rescued five more children abducted by Russia, including minors who had been held in reeducation camps and subjected to military training.
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Investigations reveal a system of indoctrination of children abducted by Russia. [...] Ukraine has identified over 150 locations where Russia is holding or has relocated abducted Ukrainian children, including families involved in illegal adoptions. These are around 40 camps, over 40 adoptive families, more than 50 educational institutions, and several Russian state-run facilities—spread across Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
These forced relocations are part of what human rights groups call a state policy of Russification. Children are placed in camps or foster families, issued Russian passports, and compelled to forget their heritage. Some are enrolled in military schools, others are sent deep into Russia, given new biographies as if their pasts never existed.
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It's what's known as "cultural genocide". You saw this most prominently with American, Canadian, and Mexican residential schools, as well as literally everything the British did in Ireland - you take the kids away from their heritage when they're young and basically drown them in their colonizer's heritage. You punish them for speaking about their old lives, speaking their native cultural tongue, or doing anything to associate with their old life. You do this severely, frequently, publicly and without ceasing. Eventually the kid "forgets" about their old culture as a defense mechanism, and they generally don't know enough to pass on those traditions, culture, or language.
Legally, this is a recognized definition of genocide. Russia has made it clear since before the war started that they don't want to content themselves with simply killing Ukrainian soldiers or occupying Ukrainian lands, their ultimate goal is the elimination of the CONCEPT of Ukraine as anything but part of Russia.
Recruiting slaves and future peons.