40,000 Ukrainian Children Illegally Deported to Russian Re-Education Camps

According to the Regional Center for Human Rights, Russian-installed authorities deported 40,000 children from occupied Ukrainian territories during the summer of 2024.

According to the statements of the representatives of the occupation administrations, during the summer season of 2024, 40,000 Ukrainian children were taken to "re-education camps" as part of the "Useful Vacations" project. This is almost twice as much as last year.

The Regional Center for Human Rights has documented the relocation of Ukrainian children to various locations across Russia, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Tula. Some facilities are located as far as 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The Center’s analysts have identified 13 re-education camps in occupied Ukrainian territories, 18 in Belarus, and 67 in Russia. The curriculum at these camps includes training in shooting with automatic rifles, parachuting, drone operation, and landmine placement. Activities at these camps reportedly involve intense propaganda sessions designed to foster loyalty to Russia, along with military training.

The Human Rights Center reports that since the occupation of Crimea, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Russian Federation has been actively developing a network of "re-education camps", which today reaches hundreds of institutions. Their goal is to eradicate national identity, forcibly assimilate Ukrainian children and turn them into a resource for achieving their own geopolitical interests.