Russia initiated the mass deportation of Ukrainian children just six days before the full-scale war began, according to Ermak.

The occupiers began the mass deportation of Ukrainian children on February 18, 2022, just six days before the full-scale invasion commenced.

This was reported by the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak.

According to him, over 2,700 children, primarily from orphanages and boarding schools, were taken to Russia by the morning of February 19. The Russian side falsified their personal information, including names, dates, and places of birth, and issued them Russian passports.

Yermak noted that some children were later placed in foster families or put up for adoption, thereby separating them from their homeland. Russia justifies its actions as “rescuing from danger,” although it is, as Yermak pointed out, the source of that danger.

He emphasized that the abduction of Ukrainian children before the full-scale war demonstrates that it was a planned criminal operation aimed at eradicating the Ukrainian identity of these children and forcibly assimilating them.

The head of the President's Office also mentioned that Russia is attempting to present this crime as an evacuation due to danger. He stressed that deportation is a war crime and a crime against humanity for which Russia must be held accountable.

Ukraine has already managed to return 1,221 children, but thousands still remain in Russian captivity.

It is worth noting that the Security Service of Ukraine suspects Yulia Suprun, Anna Pavlenko, and Vyacheslav Cheprassov of forcibly relocating six minor students from Kherson Higher Vocational School No. 2 to the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russians.

Investigators state that Suprun unlawfully gained control over Ukrainian teenagers aged 15 to 17 on September 26, 2022. Among them were three orphans, two deprived of parental care, and one child in difficult life circumstances. With the involvement of the suspect, the children were illegally transferred from the “Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation” in the village of Stepnovka to the vocational school.

In October 2022, when it became clear that Russian troops could not hold Kherson, all occupation leaders of educational institutions were ordered to send children “for rehabilitation to Crimea.”