November 17, Pozirk. At least 2,442 children aged between six and 17 have been taken from Ukraine to Belarus since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, said researchers from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL).
Children, including those from vulnerable groups, were brought via Russia to 13 different facilities in Belarus, according to their report compiled for the US-based Conflict Observatory NGO.
Ukrainian children were “subjected to pro-regime re-education in at least eight of the 13 locations,” it said, noting that some children stayed at healthcare facilities for alleged medical treatment while several groups underwent military training in Belarus, including in the internal troops.
“Russia’s systematic effort to identify, collect, transport, and re-educate Ukraine’s children has been facilitated by Belarus,” researchers said, noting the responsibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian ruler Alaksandar Łukašenka.
The report also identified several organizations and individuals who facilitated transfers of Ukrainian children to Belarus, among them Paralympian Alaksiej Tałaj, Belarusian potash giant Biełauśkalij and the Belarusian state-run youth union.
The exact number of displaced Ukrainian children currently remaining in Belarus remains unknown, the researchers noted.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over alleged deportations of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine. The Belarusian opposition is seeking a similar warrant for Łukašenka on the same grounds.
