About Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

From the USA Today / Yahoo!News:

"Deal to end Russia-Ukraine war must include returning abducted Ukrainian kids | Opinion

Steven Moore and Colby Barrett, August 26, 2025

 

Until recently, the most devastating tragedy in Russia's war against Ukraine – Russia’s abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children ‒ has gotten little attention in the United States. But thanks to a surprise letter from first lady Melania Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the kidnapped children got attention at the White House and in the news. And they’re emerging as a key part of any agreement to end the war that Russia launched in 2022.

The first lady’s letter, which did not specifically cite the kidnapped Ukrainian children, said that “as parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope.” She called on Putin to protect “the innocence of these children” and “restore their melodic laughter,” adding that he could do so “with a stroke of the pen today.”

That day was Aug. 15, when President Donald Trunmp gave Putin the letter as they met in Alaska to discuss how to end the war. Trump later posted it on Truth Social.

On Aug. 18, at a White House summit’s news conferences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy twice expressed gratitude to the first lady for her letter and asserted his desire “for the people to bring kids back to the families. … This is so, so important.”

The Ukrainian government has been able to identify about 20,000 children who have been kidnapped by Russia. The number now has likely grown to six figures.

Some were made orphans when Russians killed their parents, but many have Ukrainian relatives who could care for them ‒ or living fathers or mothers who must deal with the catastrophic loss of their children.

Whether or not these Ukrainian kids have parents, Russia is putting them up for foster care or adoption by Russians and taking other legal steps to turn them into Russian citizens.

Luhansk, an area of Ukraine seized by Russia in 2014, built an online catalogue with photos and descriptions to advertise children to potential “foster parents.”

Ukrainian activists are concerned these children are vulnerable to human traffickers. One 16-year-old, Catherine, is outfitted  in a low-cut dress, and her description reads, “Her physical development corresponds to her age.”

Not only are these infants, toddlers and teens living in Russia or Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, they are brainwashed in schools, not allowed to speak their native language and taught to dislike their homeland and love their new country.

Many teens are sent to Russian camps for military training to fight for Russia. One rescued teenager said in our recent documentary, “A Faith Under Siege,” that when he refused to sing the Russian national anthem, required daily, he was thrown into solitary confinement four times.

One mother, whose name cannot be used for security reasons, told Save Ukraine, “I was terrified. In the village, people said that if a family didn’t obey the occupation regime, the children would be taken away.”

Wars are fought over resources, and the resource Russia needs is children. Russia’s birth rate in the first quarter of 2025 was likely the lowest since the early 1800s. And in 2022, more than 1 in 4 pregnancies – about 500,000 – ended in abortion.

Mykola Kuleba, founder of Save Ukraine, a faith-based group that’s rescued more than 700 abducted children, believes that the children are kidnapped for another reason.

Russia wants to “annihilate Ukrainian identity. Totally destroy and kill us. But they cannot do it openly. That’s why their strategy is forcible abduction of these children,” Kuleba said in one of our videos..."