Over 20,000 Ukrainian сhildren deported to Russia – ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets
Source: Dmytro Lubintes
Russia has abducted more than 20,000 children from Ukraine, and the risk of deportation is still high for another 1.5 million children now living in occupied territories, said human right ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on Wednesday.
He argued that Russian officials alter the personal data of these kidnapped children to make it harder to locate and reunite them with their families.
“They even send our children to so-called ‘re-education camps’ where they are brainwashed with Russian propaganda. Just imagine, our children are being forced to deny their Ukrainian heritage,” Lubinets said at an event held by the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.
Russian goverment practices often see children from orphanages in the Kherson region deported to Russia with being adopted without any consent or denied necessary medical care.
Lubinets said Ukraine will continue its efforts to find the deported children to help bring them home.
“The main issue right now is that Russia is deliberately slowing down the process of returning our children,” Lubinets added.
Earlier reports from British intelligence confirmed that at least 11,000 Ukrainian children are currently being held in 43 so-called “re-education camps” across Russia, thousands of kilometers away from their homes.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.
Rinat Akhmetov’s Metinvest Group has completed the construction of an upgraded underground NATO Role 2 hospital in one of the hottest sectors of the frontline. This is the second stabilization point established under the Steel Front initiative in cooperation with the Medical Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The new facility, funded by Metinvest with an investment of UAH 21 million, is more secure than the first one thanks to its deeper location underground (over 6 meters) and additional fortifications.
Five armored vehicles “Kozak” have received a new mission – thanks to the support of Metinvest, they have been upgraded to full-fledged command and staff vehicles. These upgraded vehicles are now operating on the front line.
A kamikaze drone flies directly toward an armored personnel carrier. But instead of penetrating the hull, it explodes on a steel screen. The crew survives. This is the new reality for Ukrainian forces, who have received enhanced protection thanks to the Metinvest project within “Steel Front of Rinat Akhmetov”.
To commemorate the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion, “Bukvy” has compiled data on the largest donors supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among them there are charitable foundations and businesses. The list includes, in particular, foundations that provide assistance exclusively from their own resources, without fundraising (such as SCM by Rinat Akhmetov, Epicenter, etc.).