Zelensky demands Russia return Ukrainian children

Vladyslav Rudenko was 16 years old when he was captured by Russian forces and held for nine months in children's camps in Russian-occupied Crimea and Kherson.

Unlike 20.000 other young Ukrainians, Rudenko was rescued by the non-governmental organization "Save Ukraine" and returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory after nine months in captivity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials say their focus now is on the fate of those thousands of children, many of whom remain in Russian-occupied areas in what Moscow calls "rehabilitation centers."

"This crime must be fully investigated and those responsible must be held accountable," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said over the weekend, as part of the launch of the #ChildrenAreNonNegotiable campaign.

"A just and lasting peace requires the return home of all these Ukrainian children," he added.

United States President Donald Trump has made ending the longest conflict in Europe since World War II one of his top foreign policy goals since taking office three months ago.

While talks have been held on various and sensitive issues, the issue of repatriating all those taken from Ukraine has been among the main topics of negotiation by Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian officials have accused Moscow of orchestrating what some groups have called the "systematic deportation" of children from Ukraine to Russian-controlled parts of the country, or even beyond, to Russia and its ally, Belarus.

Evidence collected last year by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Belarusian and Ukrainian Services suggested that the camps are being used to teach young Ukrainians to identify with concepts promoted by Moscow and Minsk.

This came after a November 2023 study by the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Laboratory, which found that the escorted trips of Ukrainian students to Belarus were being coordinated by Belarus and Russia as part of a so-called United State between the two countries.

The study found that this process involves “re-education,” or “the promotion of cultural, historical, social, and patriotic messages or ideas that serve the political interests” of both regimes.

According to the report, military exercises, including by Interior Ministry troops, were conducted with "at least six groups of children."

Rudenko told the Ukrainian Service of REL earlier this month that during the time he was held by Russian authorities, his daily routine had a clear orientation.

"We would wake up to the Russian anthem, raise the flag, and do exercises. After breakfast, they would tell us what had happened during the night in Russia. Word for word. Then we would watch Russian films," he said, describing the regime while in the camps.

According to the Yale Humanitarian Lab, more than 8.400 children from Ukraine have been systematically displaced to at least 57 centers: 13 centers in Belarus and 43 centers in Russia or territories occupied by Russia.

According to the official Ukrainian Government portal childrenofwar.gov.ua, the number is much higher – around 20.000 – while only 1.300 children have been successfully returned. /REL/