The anonymous telegrams refer to the words of the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Kateryna Pavlichenko, who said that children will be taken away from residents of the Sumy region for refusing to evacuate. At the same time, in the propaganda message itself, they add that in this way, the Ukrainian authorities, under the guise of evacuation, are taking children away to be sold into slavery or for organs.

VoxCheck analysts explained that the report does not provide any evidence that children are being sold. Accusations of selling children into slavery and for organs are baseless theses, with which Russia is only trying to intimidate residents of frontline territories.

Evacuation from the 5-kilometer zone along the border with the Russian Federation in the Sumy region was announced back in July 2023. In March 2024, forced evacuation of children from three settlements also began, and in April this order was extended to two communities in the Sumy region. During May-June, mandatory evacuation was announced in several more settlements.

Parents do not have the right to refuse the evacuation of their children. Parents who refuse evacuation may bear administrative or criminal liability for failure to fulfill their responsibilities to raise their children. In case of proof of violation of Article 166 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (malicious failure of parents to fulfill their statutory obligations to care for a child), by decision of the court or the guardianship authority, the child may be transferred to other relatives at their request, or, if there are none, to the guardianship and trusteeship authority. In exceptional cases, in the event of an immediate threat to the life or health of the child, the guardianship and trusteeship authority or law enforcement officers may decide to immediately remove the child without depriving them of parental rights or depriving them of parental rights.

However, in this case, the priority is the safety of the children, not the punishment of the parents. Therefore, law enforcement and local authorities try to persuade parents or other guardians to leave with the children.

“Black transplantology” in Ukraine is a conspiracy theory that Russians have been developing for a decade. The constant return to the topic indicates its importance for Russia. These messages are promoted to both domestic and international audiences.

Read also: How and why Russia uses the topic of “black transplantology” in Ukraine