Russia could take out about 2,500 orphans from Ukraine, Important Stories calculated . Questionnaires of children are placed in the data bank for adoption.
The publication noted that in 2022, in a number of regions of Russia, the number of children who are registered in the data bank for adoption has increased dramatically. Last year, 21 Russian regions entered 2,450 more orphans into the state databank for adoption than the average for the previous six years.
It cannot be argued that all these children were taken out of Ukraine, journalists say. However, in two regions they were confirmed that Ukrainian children are indeed entered into the data bank. These data also correspond to the statements of the Russian Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova, who in October 2022 stated that “at different times in Russia there were 1.5-2.5 thousand children” taken “from dangerous areas of Donbass.”
Most of all, the number of orphans increased in the Rostov region (573 children), Moscow (460 children) and the Nizhny Novgorod region (388 children). Among these children there are not only orphans who lived in orphanages in Ukraine, but also those whose parents died in the war.
In Russia, children taken out of Ukraine are placed in children's institutions, where "patriotic" events are regularly held. Children weave camouflage nets for the Russian military, attend meetings with soldiers who have been at the front.
Children are often sent from one region to another, they are even taken to the Far North – to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Journalists note that, in particular, because of this, it is difficult to establish the exact number of children taken out.