Russia announces the "adoption" of thousands of children deported from Mariupol

Diana Krechetova, Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia - TUESDAY, 23 AUGUST 2022

In Russia’s Krasnodar Krai alone, more than 1,000 Ukrainian children who were illegally taken from captured Mariupol have been given up for "adoption".

This is evidenced by information on the website of the Department of Family and Childhood of Krasnodar Krai, which cynically calls Mariupol "liberated".

It is reported that the children who were taken by the Russian occupiers from the bombed-out Ukrainian port city will now live in Tyumen, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and Altai Krai.

In addition, more than 300 Ukrainian children are currently in specialised institutions of Krasnodar Krai waiting to be "adopted".

To encourage Russians illegally deported from Ukraine to adopt children, they are offered a "one-time payment of maternity benefits and state aid". They promise to pay an annual 20,000 roubles [approximately 300 US dollars] for each adopted child and more than 150,000 roubles [approximately 2500 US dollars] for a child with a disability, a child older than 7 years or the "adoption" of siblings.

According to the data of Daria Herasymchuk, the representative of the President of Ukraine for children's rights and child rehabilitation as of 1 August, the illegal deportation of 5,754 children to Russia is a known issue. Prior to that, it had also become known that the Russian Federation is preparing changes to the legislation that will allow Russians to adopt Ukrainian children according to a simplified procedure.

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