By Matt Underwood Stolen Ukrainian children are being offered for adoption on Russian websites directly funded by Vladimir Putin’s administration, a chilling revelation detailed in a comprehensive report from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab. This meticulously researched study, conducted over twenty months, unveils a systematic seven-point program orchestrated by the Russian government to forcibly transfer, re-educate, and adopt Ukrainian children.
The report highlights the direct involvement of Putin’s office in facilitating this program. Financial support from the President’s office has directly underwritten crucial logistical elements, namely the child placement databases and the transportation of the children themselves. These databases, including the Russian department of education’s “State data bank of orphans and children left without parental care” and the “Change One Life” database, are not merely passive repositories of information; they actively display profiles of Ukrainian children, complete with details like eye and hair color, temperament, and fabricated reasons for parental absence, making them readily available for adoption.
The sheer scale of this operation is deeply disturbing. The researchers identified 314 children, all taken from the Donbas regions – areas partially occupied by Russian-backed forces since 2014 – and forcibly relocated within Russia. These children are provided with new Russian identities, including fabricated backstories, photos, and videos, to facilitate their seamless integration into Russian families. Following their placement in “midpoint” accommodation centers in Russia, they are either placed directly with families or sent to re-education camps before being naturalized as Russian citizens. The children are then listed on state-backed adoption websites that act as interconnected platforms; the profiles on one website directly link to others, ensuring widespread accessibility for prospective adopters.
The websites specifically allow users to filter for children from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia – the four Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by Putin in 2022. This targeted selection underscores the deliberate nature of this program, indicating a calculated effort to erase Ukrainian identity and integrate these children into the Russian system. Of the 314 documented cases, 148 children were dispersed across five Russian regions before appearing on the databases, while others were placed with families across sixteen regions. The sheer geographic spread reveals a large-scale, well-organized operation, not a spontaneous or isolated incident.
Further solidifying the evidence of Putin’s complicity is the substantial funding the Center for Development of Social Projects, the operator of one of the key databases, received from the Presidential Grants Fund. Between 2019 and 2024, this organization received over 47 million roubles (approximately £355,000) in funding, directly tying Putin’s office to the very infrastructure used to facilitate the adoption of stolen Ukrainian children. This financial link cannot be ignored; it underscores the deliberate and systematic nature of the program, positioning it as a state-sponsored operation rather than the actions of rogue individuals.
The implications of this systematic abduction and forced adoption are profound. It constitutes a grave violation of international law, representing not only war crimes but also potential evidence of genocide. Forcibly transferring children from their cultural and national group is explicitly defined as an act of genocide under the UN Genocide Convention. The intentional removal of Ukrainian children, coupled with their subsequent re-education and assimilation into Russian society, points towards a deliberate attempt to eradicate Ukrainian identity and culture. This is not merely the displacement of children; it is a calculated effort to permanently alter the demographic and cultural landscape of Ukraine. This devastating practice mirrors historical atrocities, such as those committed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
This horrific situation demands immediate global condemnation and decisive action. The international community must hold Putin and those responsible for this crime against humanity accountable. The long-term consequences of this program extend far beyond the immediate suffering of the affected children; it poses a significant threat to Ukraine’s future, aiming to undermine its national identity and cultural heritage. The silence surrounding this issue is unacceptable, and the world must act swiftly and decisively to ensure justice for these stolen children and prevent further atrocities.