Yale Study Finds russians Kidnapped 6,000 Ukrainian Children

Exodus 21:16 Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.

Deuteronomy 24:7 If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.

Kidnapping, by its violent nature, has been condemned by many civilizations throughout history. It is considered one of the saddest crimes since the victim is seized without warning and dragged to a location far away from his home, family and community and forced to submit to the whims of his or her captors. This is probably the most severe and despicable form of stealing. As the first two verses of this blog show, in the Old Testament this was punishable by death.

In America this crime is punishable by life in prison and sometimes even death. Kidnapping and murder shows you how evil man truly can be. It is completely disobeying the second greatest commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself; as well as the seventh commandment: Thou shalt not steal.

This week the news media reported that russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children – likely many more - in sites in russian-held Crimea and russia whose primary purpose appears to be political re-education, according to a U.S.-backed report.

The report said Yale University School of Public Health researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The children included those with parents or clear familial guardianship, those russia deemed orphans, others who were in the care of Ukrainian state institutions before the invasion and those whose custody was unclear or uncertain due to the war, the report said.

“The primary purpose of the camp facilities we’ve identified appears to be political re-education,” Nathaniel Raymond, one of the researchers, said in a briefing to reporters.

This crime mimics that of Nazi Germany, which during World War II also kidnapped children and transported them to re-education camps.

Some of the children were moved through the system and adopted by russian families, or moved into foster care in russia, the report said.

The youngest child identified in the russian program was just four months old, and some camps were giving military training to children as young as 14, Raymond said, adding that researchers had not found evidence those children were later deployed in combat.

Since the latest russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, russians have made it a point to kill or injure as many Ukrainian children and women as they could in order to deplete the Ukrainian genetic foundation. In addition to kidnappings, the russian cutthroats also killed and raped children and women.

The system of camps and the adoption by russian families of Ukrainian children taken from their homeland “appears to be authorized and coordinated at the highest levels of Russia’s government,” the report said, beginning with President Vladimir Putin and extending to local officials.

The key findings of the Yale report are:

• More than 6,000 children in russia’s custody: Yale Humanitarian Research Lab has collected information about at least 6,000 children from Ukraine ages four months to 17 years who have been held at camps and other facilities since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Arrivals to these facilities began in February 2022; the most recent transfers occurred in January 2023. The total number of children is not known and is likely significantly higher than 6,000.

• At least 43 facilities in network: The network spans at least 43 facilities identified by Yale HRL, 41 of which are pre-existing summer camps in Russia-occupied Crimea and russia. Among the camps, 12 are clustered around the Black Sea, 7 are in occupied Crimea, and 10 are clustered around the cities of Moscow, Kazan, and Yekaterinburg. Eleven of the camps are located over 500 miles from Ukraine’s border with russia, including two camps in Siberia and one in russia’s Far East. The exact number of facilities is likely significantly higher than the 43 identified in this report. Yale HRL identified two facilities associated with the deportation of orphans: a psychiatric hospital, and a family center.

• Network of children’s facilities stretches from russia-occupied Crimea to russia’s eastern coast: The furthest camp this investigation identifies is in Magadan oblast in russia’s Far East near the Pacific Ocean, approximately 3,900 miles from Ukraine’s border with the russian Federation. The camp in Magadan is roughly three times closer to the United States than it is to the border of Ukraine.

• Primary purpose of the camps appears to be political re-education: At least 32 (78%) of the camps identified by Yale HRL appear engaged in systematic re-education efforts that expose children from Ukraine to russia-centric academic, cultural, patriotic, and/or military education. Multiple camps endorsed by the russian Federation are advertised as “integration programs”, with the apparent goal of integrating children from Ukraine into the russian government’s vision of national culture, history, and society.

• Children from two of the camps have been placed with foster families in russia: Yale HRL identified at least two camps that hosted children alleged to be orphans who were later placed with foster families in russia. Twenty children from these camps were reported to have been placed with families in moscow oblast and enrolled in local schools there.

• Consent is collected under duress and routinely violated: Consent gathered from parents for their child to attend a camp included signing over power of attorney in some cases, including to an unnamed agent. Other parents allege that the specific elements of the consent they gave were violated, such as the term of stay and procedures for reuniting with their children. Still other parents allegedly refused to allow their children to go to camps, but were ignored by camp organizers who enrolled the children in camps regardless. In many cases, the ability of parents to provide meaningful consent may be considered doubtful, as the conditions of war and implicit threat from occupying forces represent conditions of duress.

• Children’s returns from at least four camps have been suspended: In approximately 10% of camps identified by Yale HRL, children’s return to Ukraine was allegedly suspended. At two camps, Artek and Medvezhonok, children’s returns were suspended indefinitely, according to parents. Medvezhonok is one of the largest camps identified, at one point hosting at least 300 children from Ukraine. Officials there originally told the children’s parents they would return at the end of summer, but later rescinded the date of return. Hundreds of children from Ukraine from at least two other camps, Luchistyi and Orlyonok, have been or are being held past their scheduled date of return; Yale HRL has been unable to identify how many of these children have been reunited with their parents. Parents also described being unable to get information about their child’s status or whereabouts after their return has been suspended. It is unknown how many of Ukraine’s children russia currently holds and how many have been released to their families.

• All levels of russia’s government are involved: This operation is centrally coordinated by russia’s federal government and involves every level of government. Yale HRL has identified several dozen federal, regional, and local figures directly engaged in operating and politically justifying the program. Activities of officials allegedly implicated in the operation include logistical coordination (i.e., transporting children), raising funds, collecting supplies, direct camp management, and promoting the program within russia and occupied areas of Ukraine. At least 12 of these individuals are not on U.S. and/or international sanction lists at the time of this report.

Another russian crime against Ukraine and humanity. Another act of genocide.