The Russian government operates an extensive network of dozens of camps that have housed thousands of Ukrainian children since the start of the war with Ukraine last year, according to a new report released on Tuesday. .
The report contains disturbing new details about the extent of Moscow’s efforts to relocate and re-educate Ukrainian children, sometimes to military training and forced adoption.
The report was produced by the Yale Institute for Humanities as part of the work of the US State Department-supported Conflict Observatory. The observatory was set up last year to collect evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
“All levels of the Russian government are involved,” Nathaniel Raymond of the Yale Institute for Humanities told reporters on Tuesday.
“Think of this report as a giant amber alert that we are issuing to Ukrainian children,” he said.
CNN reached out to the Russian Embassy in Washington for comment.
More than 6,000 children, ranging from just a few months old to 17 years old, were held in Russian custody at some point during the nearly year-long war, according to the report, although “the total number of children is unknown.” and could be well over 6,000.”
They identified 43 facilities that are part of a network that “stretches the length of Russia”, including Russian-occupied Crimea, “eastern Pacific coast closer to Alaska than Moscow”, and Siberia. Raymond said.
“The main purpose of the camps appears to be political re-education,” he said, noting that at least 32 institutions identified in the report were “systematically exposing Ukrainian children to Russia-centered academics.” appear to be engaged in a serious re-education effort.” , cultural, patriotic, and, in two cases, particularly military education.
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