Russia abducting Ukrainian children to bolster its army – UK intelligence
The UK Ministry of Defense reported this on X, citing intelligence sources, according to Ukrinform.
According to UK intelligence, referencing Ukrainian government data, Russia is conscripting young Ukrainians into the Russian military once they turn 18, significant numbers of which were abducted from illegally invaded and occupied Ukrainian territories as children. Some are then reportedly being forced to take a direct part in the conflict against their fellow Ukrainians.
"More than 19,500 Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred or deported by the Russian authorities to mainland Russia and the illegally occupied territory of Crimea, with some open source reports estimating the total number deported to be as high as 35,000. An estimated 6,000 Ukrainian children have been relocated to a network of re-education camps, from which they are reportedly sent on to military training depots when they reach their late teens," the UK intelligence report said.
The ministry noted that the Russian senior leadership almost certainly views, at least in part, abducted Ukrainian children as a potential source of both current, and future personnel for the Russian military.
"The Russian senior leadership highly likely perceives that their potential deaths in the Russian military will entail minimal if any objection or protest from the Russian public, the vast majority of whom have limited if any awareness of the abductions," the report said.
It emphasizes that the abduction and forced conscription of Ukrainian children into the Russian military fits into the Russian senior leadership's long-standing Russification policy in illegally occupied Ukrainian territory, which seeks to extirpate Ukrainian culture, identity and statehood.
Photo: Bring Kids Back UA
