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Putin's War Crimes: Stealing Children [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-31
They’re taking the children.
Ripped from their homes. Lied to. Crying for their Mothers. Missing their siblings. Terminally homesick. Forced to accept new parents. Emotionally tortured.
According to official Ukrainian numbers, there are 19,000 documented cases of children kidnapped by Russians. But that 19,000 number is probably much too low. While this number can vary greatly, the Russian media claims that 728,000 children from the occupied territories of Ukraine were taken to Russia.
Nearly three quarters of a million children.
Why do the Russians want them? Russia insists that its motives are purely humanitarian, evacuating children to protect them from danger. Why do they really want them? Two main reasons. For the younger ones, adoption. The Russian birthrate is falling. They want to replace their missing citizens with children they think of as Russian 2.0. That way, you don’t have to raise children who don’t resemble their parents. Children who might be the wrong color. Children who might have different features. These kids look like they belong. They have the right genes. One of Vladimir Putin’s ministers has adopted one of these illegally appropriated children.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67488646 He changed the rules on adoption to make it easier.
The other reason? The older boys are fodder for the military. They want boys they can groom as soldiers, soldiers who are still children.
The process is simple. In Russian-occupied areas, any child is in danger, especially if they live in an institution or attend a summer camp. They are grabbed and taken to Russia. If they are able to understand, they are lied to. “You parents are dead and your house has been destroyed. You have no family, no home.” Their names and birthdates are changed so no one can track them. For the younger children, they might not remember their legal name. But a few older children were able to gain possession of a cell phone and call home. There are currently approximately 1200 children who did come home. Don’t ask how- some things should remain a secret.
Stealing children has made Vladimir Putin a war criminal.
When the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, they claimed he is “…responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation …There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes…”
Several countries, including Germany and Brazil, have told Putin that if he crosses their borders, they will arrest him and send him to the Hague.
And speaking of people who should be arrested, our President cut the aid the U.S. was giving to assist Ukraine with locating and returning the children. Of course he would do that. He never liked kids.
Trump has pledged his support to a war criminal. Be on the right side of history. If there is one stand you will take, please stand up it for the children. Please Stand with Ukraine.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/31/2313727/-Putin-s-War-Crimes-Stealing-Children?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
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