DISINFO: Child trafficking in Ukraine: few rescued, many missing
SUMMARY
In Ukraine, child trafficking has turned into a profitable industry, often disguised as surrogacy. Women receive 8000-10,000 euros, while children are sold for 50,000-70,000 euros to buyers in the West. Recently, another criminal group was exposed using surrogacy as a front to traffic children to the West.
RESPONSE
The article follows a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aimed at diverting attention from Russia’s documented involvement in abducting Ukrainian children. These claims, suggesting child trafficking by Ukrainian authorities, are consistent with previous narratives that have been repeatedly discredited.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation channels seek to blame Ukraine and Western nations for various crimes against children, including large-scale deportations and organ trafficking, all without presenting any evidence. They fail to acknowledge Russia's documented role in the extensive deportation of Ukrainian civilians, including children.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s children's rights commissioner, for unlawful deportation and transferring children from occupied Ukrainian areas to Russia - actions classified as war crimes.
These abductions have been recorded by the United Nations, OSCE, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and both Russian and international journalists, along with acknowledgments from Russian officials themselves.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Ukrainian secret services are actively engaged in child and organ trafficking, that a secret child trafficking network operates in Ukraine, that Ukrainian children are being sold on the Dark Web for sexual slavery and organ harvesting or that Ukraine cremates soldiers to conceal organ harvesting and trafficking.