Ukraine Seeks Help to Locate Children from Kherson Orphanage

What Happened

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced a call for international assistance regarding the missing children from the Kherson orphanage. This urgent request follows a report that children's profiles were found in a Russian adoption database, raising serious concerns about their well-being.

The investigation revealed that these profiles, created for children taken forcibly in 2022, do not mention Ukraine or their actual origins.

Key Details

Lubinets highlighted the systematic efforts to erase Ukrainian identity in these children and deemed the situation a form of 'legalizing' abductions. He described the alarming pattern of forced relocation, changes of documents, and radical re-education leading these children into hostile environments.

"This is not an isolated incident, but a systematic practice ongoing since 2014," he stated. The Ombudsman emphasized the critical nature of time in these matters. He remarked that delays in global intervention allow Ukrainian children to grow up in foreign families, deprived of their culture and subjected to propaganda encouraging military service against their homeland.

He urged international partners to assist in locating the children and joining the efforts to return them home.

Why It Matters

The kidnapping of children and their forced assimilation represent severe violations of international law and human rights, with implications on a national and cultural level for Ukraine. Immediate action from the international community is essential to prevent the further erasure of Ukrainian identity.

Background

Since the onset of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian government has initiated measures to return abducted children. According to Ombudsman Lubinets, 2,083 children have been returned since the conflict escalated, with efforts continuing under the initiative "Bring Kids Back UA." Recently, seven children were successfully repatriated and are receiving legal and psychological support.

Lubinets stressed the necessity of decisive actions now, stating that the violent transfer of children to other national groups violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and can amount to genocide under international law. He reaffirmed his office’s commitment to locating and returning all Ukrainian children who have been unlawfully taken.

The Ombudsman noted that collaboration is pivotal to ensure each child is reunited with their family and origins.