Russian Authorities Intensify Deportation of Ukrainian Children in a Continued Genocidal Act

The self-proclaimed “Luhansk People's Republic” (LNR) Head Leonid Pasechnik announced on May 27 that Russian federal subjects (regions that are constituent entities of the Russian Federation) will "host" over 12,000 children from occupied Luhansk region over the course of 2024 and that the Russian "Useful Vacations" program will sponsor 40,000 children from occupied Ukraine to "visit" Russia for summer camps and educational activities.

Pasechnik also reported that summer camps for children in occupied Crimea and within Russia are preparing to "host" over 600 children from occupied Ukraine throughout the summer, including the "Okean" summer camp in Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai (which is closer to Alaska than it is to Ukraine).

The Kherson region occupation Ministry of Labor also announced that an unspecified number of children from the occupied Kherson region will travel to the "Okean" camp for an "educational, sport, and cultural program.”

Despite Russian efforts to frame summer camps for Ukrainian children as temporary recreational and educational affairs, they are a fundamental component of Russia's campaign to deport Ukrainians, including children, to Russia.

The forcible transfer of children from one group to another is a recognized act constituting genocide, and Russia's multifaceted schemes deporting Ukrainian children to Russia may therefore be classed as genocidal acts.

Ukrainian children who are deported to Russia under the guise of "vacations" or "summer camps" are subjected to Russification programs aimed at severing their ties with their Ukrainian families, language, culture, and history.

Russian authorities are expected to ramp up their deportation efforts throughout the summer, disguising them as summer vacations. However, these programs are, in reality, genocidal acts against the Ukrainian people, despite Russia's attempts to present them as temporary and beneficial educational opportunities.

Earlier, on May 22, the National Resistance Center of Ukraine reported large-scale construction of filtration camps has been launched in Russia’s Volga region under the guise of children’s summer camps. These are quickly assembled modular houses, more like barracks, that will accommodate hundreds of “visitors.”