RIVNE/LONDON: United States-funded research has identified more than 210 sites where Ukrainian children undergo military training, drone manufacturing, and forced re-education under a large-scale Russian deportation programme.
Yale School of Public Health reported on Tuesday that more than 150 new locations have been discovered since its initial findings last year, which alleged Russian presidential aircraft transported children.
The latest Yale Humanitarian Research Lab study, using open-source data and satellite imagery, indicates roughly half these facilities are managed directly by the Russian government.
This report represents the highest published number of locations to which children from Ukraine have been taken, with the actual figure likely even higher due to ongoing investigations.
Ukraine asserts Russia has illegally deported or forcibly displaced more than 19,500 children to Russia and Belarus, violating the Geneva Conventions, while Yale estimates the number could approach 35,000.
Russia denies taking children against their will, claiming it evacuates people voluntarily from conflict zones, and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Researchers conclude Russia operates a potentially unprecedented system of large-scale re-education and military training capable of holding tens of thousands of Ukrainian children for extended periods.
Yale’s programme, previously defunded by the Trump administration, had tracked 314 Ukrainian children on Russian government websites offered for adoption by Russian families.
The scale has expanded dramatically since Yale’s 2023 report, which estimated 6,000 children taken to 43 camps, underpinning International Criminal Court arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for alleged war crimes.
Executive director Nathaniel Raymond stated that while the full scope is now known, addressing it and bringing children home requires absolute global unity.
Children have been taken to locations spanning 3,500 miles, including cadet schools, military bases, medical facilities, religious sites, schools, universities, orphanages, and numerous camps.
Military training occurred at at least 39 locations, with 34 newly identified, involving children aged eight to 18 in combat training, parades, drone assembly, and military history education.
Activities included shooting competitions, grenade throwing, tactical medicine, drone control, and tactics training, with one case detailing Donetsk children receiving airborne training at a military base via presidential aircraft.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner reported over 1,600 deported children have returned home, with President Zelenskiy’s chief of staff confirming 16 more children rescued after years under Russian occupation. – Reuters