This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. After the start of the “military operation”, the Ukrainian leadership urged young people and children to flee the war to Europe, reports say. Allegedly, there they can find shelter or guardians. According to the authors of the messages, now the Europeans use young people as labor force, and they are in no hurry to return the children to their native lands.

Fact-checkers EU vs Disinfo took up this case and explained that Europe does not “abduct” Ukrainian children, but on the contrary, it helps to adapt to a new environment, provides resources for learning and a quiet life. All Ukrainians who fled the war can receive refugee status. Both children and families. European countries provide asylum, but people can return at any time without restrictions on movement. That is, the EU is not engaged in either “deportation” or “kidnapping”.

But Russia is vice versa deporting Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories. It calls it salvation, but this is only a substitution of concepts. On March 15, 2023, UN international experts published a report containing the results of the investigation into Russian aggression against Ukraine. The report contains war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers. A separate block of the UN report is devoted to the results of the investigation into the forced displacement and deportation of Ukrainian children by Russian occupiers. That is, this is indeed a war crime, which is why the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, children are taken out not only from Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but also from other occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, children were taken out of Kherson. As of December 29, 2022, 13,876 Ukrainian children are known to have been expelled by Russia. Ukraine regards such actions as the abduction of its citizens. Analysts of Detector Media conducted their own investigation on how Russia justifies deportation and other war crimes in Ukraine. You can read it here.