“Russia is turning the issue of the evacuation of Ukrainian children into a new tool of informational pressure. After the official report of the ombudsman was leaked, the Russian media began to actively discredit Ukraine, spreading fakes about the alleged danger to children. The return of Ukrainian children who ended up in Russia remains one of the most difficult issues in the negotiations. According to official data, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Russian Federation has exported at least 20,000”, — write on: ua.news
Russia is turning the issue of the evacuation of Ukrainian children into a new tool of informational pressure. After the official report of the ombudsman was leaked, the Russian media began to actively discredit Ukraine, spreading fakes about the alleged danger to children.
The return of Ukrainian children who ended up in Russia remains one of the most difficult issues in the negotiations. According to official data, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Russian Federation has deported at least 20,000 children, and Ukraine managed to return only about 10%.
Against the background of these efforts, Russian propaganda is trying to shift the emphasis from its own war crimes. One example was the coverage of the evacuation of orphans from the frontline regions to Turkey in the spring of 2022. The project came under Kremlin information attacks, the spread of fakes delayed the evacuation for several weeks, and the enemy used this time to forcibly deport thousands of children.
In 2025, the topic was again in the spotlight after the publication of a journalistic investigation based on a confidential official report of the Office of the Ombudsman. It referred to violations of safety rules and conditions of children’s stay during evacuation. The Russian media immediately used the materials for the narrative about the “impossibility of the safe return of the children”, increasing the international informational pressure on Ukraine and its partners.
The article notes that such campaigns can harm efforts to return deported children and require the close attention of government agencies and special services. “The Kremlin is trying to discredit Ukraine at every step, using the most vulnerable topics. Children have become a new political tool,” the authors of the investigation emphasize.
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