Kyiv has accused Moscow of "kidnapping" children from a Russian-occupied city in Donetsk as part of a policy to destroy Ukrainian identity.
The Ukrainian military's National Resistance Center said that Russia was seeking to forcibly relocate children from Horlivka at the end of the school year under the pretext of an "evacuation."
"The Russians continue their policy of genocide in the temporarily occupied territories, aimed at kidnapping Ukrainian children," the center said on Friday, adding that the plan aimed to "assimilate" the children and "destroy" their Ukrainian identity.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Friday that the move was part of efforts by Russian authorities "to deport Ukrainians, particularly children, to Russia under various schemes."
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), from which Russia has been suspended, said in March that Russia's forced relocation of Ukrainian children and efforts to impose Russian culture on them "matches with the international definition of genocide."
It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday that allowed for the further deportation of residents from occupied parts of Ukraine.
Putin's order targets those living in occupied territories who have refused to accept Russian passports, deeming their desire to keep their Ukrainian citizenship as showing that they are "foreign" and "stateless" citizens living inside the Russian Federation.
They can live in the occupied territories until July 1, 2024. The ISW said they "may be subject to deportation after this date."
The U.S. think tank said that Putin's decree "codifies coercive methods" for residents of occupied territory to get Russian passports and sets conditions "for the deportation of Ukrainians who do not agree to become Russian citizens."
Newsweek has emailed the Kremlin for comment.
The ISW has also previously said that efforts to deport Ukrainians to Russia may violate the Geneva Convention on genocide and was also part of a "potential deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign."
More than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia under the pretext of "medical treatment", Ukraine's Reintegration Ministry said in March.
That month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia's commissioner on children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for overseeing the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Ukrainian presidential advisor for children's rights Daria Herasymchuk, said on April 9 that children who returned to Ukraine from Russia complained of beatings and other punishments for refusing to sing the Russian anthem.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
