Ukraine: Thousands of children kidnapped from Mariupol – put up for ‘adoption’ by Russia | Politics

They are laying Ukraine in ruins, killing thousands of civilians, committing the worst massacres like that in Bucha – and they are not afraid to abuse the most vulnerable in an attempt to fully integrate their independent neighbors.

As Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day on Wednesday, horrifying reports of thousands of children being deported continue to spread. On Tuesday, the State Department accused Russia of abducting Ukrainian children for mass “adoption.”

The statement said: “Russia continues to abduct children from the territory of Ukraine and arrange their illegal adoption by Russian citizens.” More than 300 Ukrainian children are also being held in “special facilities” in the Krasnodar region, Kyiv sources said.

500 euros per year per child

According to the ministry, more than a thousand children from the Russian-controlled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol “were illegally handed over to foreigners in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and the Siberian Altai Republic.” The Ministry relied on, inter alia, the information provided Officials of the city of Krasnodar Issued in Southwest Russia.

Ukrainian news site Pravda Explains in detail how Russian people are attracted to “adoptions” of illegally deported children:

︎ In this way, host families will receive a one-time payment for maternity benefit and state assistance.

︎ In addition, the authorities promise to pay 20,000 rubles (currently about 500 euros) annually for each adopted child.

︎ For each disabled child, twins or children over seven years old, there is 150,000 rubles (about 2,500 euros) per year.

Kyiv now adheres to the Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Moscow Citizens and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. “All Ukrainian children illegally taken to Russia should be returned to their parents or legal guardians,” the ministry said.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government in Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of forcing Ukrainians in areas occupied by Russian troops to flee their homelands for Russia. Ukrainian authorities speak of “deportation” in this context.