Russia's indoctrination of Ukrainian children 'industrial', officials say

The latest investigation by Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) team proves Russia’s “industrial approach” to the indoctrination of the deported Ukrainian children, sources in Ukraine told Euronews.

“Russia's approach to brainwashing Ukrainian children is similar to its approach to developing the military-industrial complex,” a person familiar with the investigation who spoke to Euronews under the condition of anonymity to avoid affecting the work of the authorities said.

They also confirmed the veracity of the information made public in the HLR report.

The HRL report revealed that the Ukrainian children, forcefully deported by Moscow troops, have been taken to at least 210 facilities inside Russia and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine since February 2022.

Both Yale HRL and Ukrainian officials said that the actual number is likely higher, as it is often impossible to track and trace the children once they are already in Russia.

Euronews source explained that Russian authorities deliberately mix children up in the institutions, so supposedly “in some institutions mentioned in the Yale report the proportion of Ukrainian children is predominant or at least significant.”

“There are places in the remote areas of Russia where there are, for example five Ukrainian children to 25 or 100 Russian children.”

Indoctrination of Ukrainian children

The vast majority of Ukrainian children undergo indoctrination and militarisation in Russia, the latest Yale report shows.

The team investigated the “All-Russian Children’s Centre Change” in Krasnodar Krai, established and managed by Russia’s Ministry of Education. The researchers documented how deported Ukrainian children had to undergo military training with a focus on the development of equipment to be used on the battlefield by Russia’s military.

The facility hosts at least six different camp programs for children from across Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. It is part of over half of the 210 locations, directly managed by Russia’s government.

Euronews sources familiar with the investigation pointed out that the Yale report revelations “completely refute all Russian narratives”.

“If, as they insist, Russian main goal is a fairy tail of evacuating children from military danger temporarily and they intend to brim them back, why do they then brain wash Ukrainian children and try to turn them into Russian," they said.

The Yale HRL have also investigated the “Snigiri Young Patriot Centre”, built on the premises of a health complex owned by Russia’s Presidential Administration. This centre opened in July 2023 near Moscow with the explicit goal to "re-educate" children from Ukraine.

This is not the first instance where HRL has recorded the use of presidential assets to transport and house deported children from Ukraine.

"The explicit use of presidential assets for the re-education and military training of children from Ukraine further underscores the Federal government’s central involvement in all operations related to the deportation, 'reeducation', adoption and fostering of children from Ukraine," the source explained.

The last known group of children from Ukraine arrived at Snegiri as recently as July.

Recent social media posts indicate that children are divided into “platoons” and are depicted handling firearms and wearing tactical or protective gear, including gas masks.

Ukrainian officials are warning that the children are forced into this sort of military training and indoctrination and are punished if they do not follow orders.

Euronews reported cases of Ukrainian children who endured abuse, beatings, confinement in the basement, and threats of being sent to psychiatric hospitals for disobedience.

Euronews sources familiar with the investigation explain that the same indoctrination and threats are applied to temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

There are “countless stories” of parents being threatened with having their children taken away if children do not “behave like obedient Russians at school,” the source said.

“Sometimes there are cases when children are taken away because of this. When Ukrainians in the occupied territories are deprived of their parental rights and their children.”

Ukraine’s fight for its children

Ukraine repeatedly insisted that the return of the deported children is Kyiv’s red line, and it has to be part of any settlement to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Russia has not responded to Kyiv’s list of over 300 children handed over to the Russian delegation at the direct talks in Istanbul in June, Euronews sources say, adding that Ukraine has not softened its stance and is using any opportunity to raise this issue and mobilise Kyiv’s western partners.

Euronews sources familiar with this process said Ukraine is not “sitting around doing nothing”.

“Kyiv is raising this issue in various forums at the highest levels, starting with the president, continuing with the first lady, the head of the (president's) office, and the foreign minister and so on.”

“Our key partners all believe that kidnapping children is morally sick. No one thinks it's okay. Therefore for Ukraine globally the war is not just about territory. It's a war for our people, and the return of our people. It is a very important and integral part of a just end to the war.”

If once the war is over, Ukrainian children, civilian hostages and prisoners of war remain in Russia, “it will be an open wound that will not give anyone peace,” the source explained.

And this is why Kyiv is raising this issue each time “ both publicly and behind the scenes”, the authorities said, while also admitting that in some instances it will be extremely hard to bring children back.

Among cases thoroughly investigated by the Yale HRL are Ukrainian children either forcibly separated from their parents in frontline areas at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion and those who were taken directly from their parents by Russia-aligned officials in the filtration camps established in and around Mariupol in the spring of 2022.

Depending on their age, the return process can be very complicated. “If we are talking about teenagers, they are already somewhat formed, and they understand what happened to them, what is happening to them, they have some memory, they have some self-identification," the source told Euronews.

"If it is an infant, who was under three years old when the deportation took place – they cannot remember anything and there's the added complication that they already look different.”