Russia continues to relocate Ukrainian children; however, compared to the early years of the full-scale war, it is employing different mechanisms, specifically, transfer to camps, sending children to Russia for "education," separation from parents during "filtration" procedures, and the appointment of Russian guardians, according to Maksym Maksymov, head of the presidential initiative Bring Kids Back UA.
"In the early years of the full-scale war, the dominant methods were mass transfers of entire groups from boarding schools and orphanages—such as the evacuation from Kherson Regional Children's Home in the autumn of 2022—and the removal of wounded children via hospitals during active combat operations. Today, different mechanisms are at play: transfer to so-called 'recreation camps,' sending children to Russia for 'education,' separation from parents during filtration, and the appointment of a Russian guardian for the child," he said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Maksymov added that these camps have become a mass-scale channel; notably, according to Russian officials themselves—as cited in an OSCE report—approximately 53,000 children from occupied territories were slated to go to "re-education" camps in the summer of 2025, with another 50,000 scheduled for the summer of 2026.
"Some of these transfers are framed as ostensibly voluntary. Parents are threatened with the loss of parental rights or the seizure of their child if the child does not attend a Russian school, participate in militarized programs, or go to the camps. Consequently, the formal 'consent' given by parents is very often the result of coercion rather than choice," he noted.
