Overview

• The online catalogue published by Russia-controlled authorities in Luhansk lists 294 Ukrainian children classified as orphans and lets users filter by age, gender, eye colour and hair colour.
• Save Ukraine CEO Mykola Kuleba denounced the database as “digital child trafficking,” saying occupation forces killed parents or forged documents to strip children of Ukrainian identity.
• NGOs report that roughly 19,546 children have been deported since Russia’s 2022 invasion and only about 1,399 have been repatriated to Ukraine.
• The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in March 2023 for President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over unlawful child transfers, and the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia’s actions amount to organised human rights violations.
• Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejects ICC rulings as legally meaningless and continues to block large-scale repatriation despite international pressure.