NewsUkrainian newborns threatened with seizure by Russian forces
Ukrainian newborns threatened with seizure by Russian forces
2:19 PM EDT, May 4, 2024
Further shocking reports are emerging from regions occupied by Russia. The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reveals disturbing practices in maternity wards in these territories. Ukrainian mothers face threats of having their newborns taken from them unless at least one parent holds Russian citizenship.
The conflict in Ukraine has raged for two years, casting a spotlight on the atrocities committed by Russian forces. Prominently, the deportation of Ukrainian children into Russia's heartland led the International Court of Justice in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
Though the issue had subsided in the media, recent developments suggest a resurgence of such egregious actions by Russian occupiers.
According to ISW, Russian authorities in the occupied zones now openly declare intentions to remove children from Ukrainian families at birth.
Russians flout international law once more
The occupying forces' plans came to light through Artem Lysogor, head of the Ukrainian military administration. On May 1, he warned of imminent actions starting May 6, where newborns could be forcibly taken unless a parent is a Russian citizen.
Such acts, if confirmed, would breach Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which deems "imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group" as an act of genocide, ISW emphasizes.
The abduction of children is just one aspect of the broader strategy of forced deportation, causing unrest at the EU border. Simultaneously, young Russians are being moved into the occupied regions to integrate into Ukrainian schools.
The Security Service of Ukraine reported on May 3 that Nikolai Opryshko, head of the migration department in occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast, and his deputy Konstantin Razygrin orchestrated the forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians to Russia's Rostov oblast. They then marched the civilians to the Russian-Latvian border, labeling them as "refugees to the European Union" in an attempt to exacerbate migration tensions, ISW detailed.
