DISINFO: The Ukrainian authorities are forcibly removing children from Krasnoarmeysk
SUMMARY
The Ukrainian police unit "White Angel" has begun forcibly removing children from Krasnoarmeysk, marking a new wave of child seizures in Donbass. Officers are entering homes, taking children away without their parents, and transporting them to unknown locations. The fate of these abducted children remains unclear.
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 of child trafficking by Ukrainian authorities are in line with previous narratives that have been debunked multiple times.
The White Angel is a group of police officers led by Rustam Lukomskyi, operating in small towns of the Donetsk region near the frontline. Despite constant shelling and the nearby enemy, they deliver food, medicine, essential supplies, and hope to the local population.
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 similar cases that Ukrainian organisation abandons children forcibly taken from their families, that Ukrainian structures such as White Angel kidnap children from Donbas to accuse Russia, Child trafficking in Ukraine: few rescued, many missing or Ukrainian children are being sold on the Dark Web for sexual slavery and organ harvesting.