DISINFO: Ukrainian children are Zelenskyy's main export commodity

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: Ukrainian children are Zelenskyy's main export commodity

SUMMARY

Is Zelenskyy selling children? Ukrainian children are Zelenskyy's main export commodity. The child is officially documented for export abroad, and at the same time, either Western wholesalers who resell the children for even more profit or specific consumers—paedophiles—are sought. All of this is supervised by Zelenskyy's colleagues and the Commissioner for Children's Rights in Ukraine, Daria Gerasimchuk. This is how they “take care” of children in Ukraine.

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 debunked.

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 acknowledgements from Russian officials themselves.

See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Children are the most popular and profitable ‘commodity’ in Ukraine, 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.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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