Ukrainian child abductions are Russian ‘war crime’ーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
Thousands of Ukraine’s children have been abducted to Russia in what’s being described as a war crime. The Ukrainian government says almost 20,000 miners have been taken from Russian occupied areas since the invasion began in February 2022. It’s one of the reasons the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin in 2023. In direct talks with Ukraine last month, the Russian government denied that any children had been abducted. It argued that it simply evacuated them for their own safety. Ukraine, however, demanded the repatriation of its citizens, but progress remains elusive. So far, only about 1,400 abductees out of the total of nearly 20,000 have been returned. We spoke with one young man who eventually managed to find his way home. We met Vlad Rudenko near the Ukrainian capital Ke last month. Back in 2022, Vlad was at home in the Russian occupied area of Heron when his life was upended. It was October 7th, 2022 when three Russian soldiers suddenly came into the house and said I had 30 minutes to pack. I didn’t have a phone and couldn’t even leave a note for my mother. At the time, Ukrainian forces on a counteroffensive were approaching Heron. Vlad, who was just 16 at the time, and several others were taken across the Denipro River by boat. They were then loaded on buses and taken to Crimea, which Russia had unilaterally annexed in 2014. There were three or 400 children at the facility Russia had set up. They gave us a piece of white paper with only an entry date on it. That’s when I started to feel I’d never be allowed to go back to Ukraine. Vlad was placed in an educational facility in Crimea. Living under a Russian flag, residents were forbidden to use the Ukrainian language and forced to sing the Russian national anthem. One day, in protest, Vlad lowered the Russian flag and ran his underwear up the flag pole. It was a show of resistance that got him locked up in a windowless room as punishment for nearly a week. And when he was transferred to a facility in occupied Heron, Vlad faced a different kind of indoctrination. They trained us in all the combat techniques. How to shoot, how to throw grenades, how to run, how to get over obstacles. prepos. A few months after his abduction, Vlad was able to borrow a friend’s phone to call his mother, Tatiana. Tatiana had been in touch with an organization working to help rescue abducted children. Despite having a newborn daughter, she traveled via a third country to reach Russia. Authorities there aggressively questioned her to assess her hostility toward Russia before she was finally allowed to see her son. I was so happy to see her. She had gone through so much to get there. She burst into tears when we met. But their reunion was marred by a marked change in Vlad. And he was initially reluctant to go home. They kept telling me, “Ukraine is a terrible country. If you go back, you’ll be taken to a basement, tortured, and interrogated every day.” I felt worried for my safety and told my mom, “Maybe I shouldn’t go back.” Tatiana negotiated with the facility and was allowed to take Vlad for a short holiday on the understanding that he’d returned. It was a promise she had no intention of keeping. To make their escape, the pair had to pass through multiple countries. But 7 months after his abduction, Vlad was back in Ukraine. Tatiana was happy, but Vlad had misgivings. The warnings he’d heard so often in Russia kept echoing in his mind. Nevertheless, 2 years later, Vlad now shares his story as widely as possible. He hopes to help bring back the others he left behind in Russia. Hello. Good morning. Hello. The head of this group that supports the rescue effort says Russia is setting up military camps in regions near the Ukrainian border. Children there are taught how to handle weapons and operate drones. It’s clear Russian strategy to turn all Ukrainian children to Russian soldiers. when aggressors army who invaded your territory in try trying every day forcibly turn your kids to military of aggressor’s army. It is a war crime. He says the children must be returned as soon as possible before it’s too late. My concern is that it’s a time when child living in this condition of light and in huge danger for their lives. They they understand it’s better obey. It’s better following this regime, these rules and not resist. That’s why we need a pressure more pressure from international community. Cases like Vlads where children are successfully rescued remain rare. Russia says Ukraine’s demands for their return are aimed at eliciting sympathy and even argues that the figure of 20,000 is exaggerated. Experts believe Russia’s goal may be to assimilate them into Russian society despite Western condemnation.
Nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia since the 2022 invasion, in what Ukraine calls a war crime and Russia claims is a rescue operation. We spoke with one teenager about his abduction, indoctrination and eventual escape. The question remains, what can be done to bring the rest home? #ukraine #russia #children
More stories on war in Ukraine: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/tags/110/
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