A heart-wrenching side of the three-year-plus war between Russia and Ukraine is the fate of nearly 20,000—and possibly more—Ukrainian children seized in occupied territory and forcibly deported to Russia.
Not unlike the 276 mostly Christian schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria by the militant Boko Haram in 2014, or the child soldiers used in battles by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the deported Ukrainian children are almost certain to be brainwashed by their Russian captors and eventually deployed in future combat situations.
“They are given Russian passports, Russian names and sent to specialized boarding schools,” Mariam Lambert, co-founder and CEO of the Emile Foundation, which is dedicated to ending the plight of the kidnapped Ukrainian children, told Newsmax on Thursday, adding that the goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin in seizing and deporting them is to “eradicate Ukrainian identity, history, and the entire country.”
Lambert strongly underscored that the official number of the children listed as deported to Russia is 19,546 and cited Ukrainian authorities as the source of the figure.
But, she added, “Russia officially claims it has saved more than 700,000 children from the war.”
“But the numbers could vary,” she continued. “ It could be 20,000 or 35,000 or 200,000.”
She also disputed the official Russian use of the term “orphans” to characterize the children because “in nearly all cases we know about, their parents and siblings are alive.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued warrants for the arrest of Putin and Russian Commissioner of Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the mass deportation of Ukrainian children since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
Included in the group of deported children from Kherson, first occupied by Russia in 2022 but liberated later that year, “are 105 children with disabilities and neurological disorders who were in a [specialized] boarding school,” according to Lambert.
One case she cited is that of two babies placed in a Ukrainian orphanage because of their mother’s personal difficulties.
As their grandmother was in the process of securing custody for the children in 2022, the invaders seized the orphanage and deported the children to Russia. The grandmother has neither seen nor heard anything of their fate since.
“What is particularly sad,” said Lambert, “is that children two and three years old have no memory of their parents or siblings and will grow up not knowing them at all unless they are found and returned to their homes.”
Lambert said that the Emile Foundation is particularly inspired by Melania Trump, pointing out that the American First Lady wrote a personal letter to Putin about the plight of the deported Ukrainian children and it was hand-delivered by her husband to the Russian strongman at their August summit in Alaska.
“And she said this resulted in eight Ukrainian children being released in Russia and reunited with their families,” Lambert said. “There are 40 leaders of European countries and others, such as Prime Minister Modi of India, who are committed to this issue. But the only success story so far is that which was initiated by Melania Trump. She is a heroine to their families.”
Whether there will be other heroines and heroes in the sad saga of kidnapped Ukrainian children remains to be seen.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Click Here Now.
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