Russian Orthodox Church priests destroy identity of deported Ukrainian children – ISW

Ivashkiv Olena — Wednesday, 5 June 2024, 04:36

A joint investigation by Russian opposition student journal DOXA and open-source outlet Kidmapping has shed light on the involvement of the Kremlin-backed Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in assimilating Ukrainian children who were deported to Russia into Russian culture.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: DOXA reported that from the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian officials have been relocating children from orphanages and boarding schools in occupied Donetsk Oblast to Russia’s Rostov Oblast. There, Metropolitan Mercury (born Igor Ivanov) of Rostov and Novocherkassk visited the children, talking to them about the ROC and encouraging them to consider baptism into the church.

Additionally, ROC clergy have been advocating for the baptism of these Ukrainian children and have encouraged them to join various "military-patriotic" youth organisations in Russia.

DOXA and Kidmapping found that children deported from occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts were housed in shelters run by the ROC in Russia's Voronezh Oblast. In these shelters, ROC clergy and associated officials held "military-patriotic" events aimed at promoting pro-Russian and pro-ROC sentiments, thereby distancing the children from their Ukrainian identities.

The ISW has highlighted the ROC's crucial role in executing the Kremlin's occupation plans in Ukraine. This role extends to the assimilation efforts targeting Ukrainian children who have been deported to Russia.

Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin-appointed Commissioner on Children's Rights, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for her involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children, is married to a ROC priest. Lvova-Belova and her husband have even adopted a deported Ukrainian child from Mariupol, illustrating the personal involvement of ROC members and Kremlin officials in these deportations.

The ISW continues to assert that the deportation of Ukrainian children, with the aim of erasing their Ukrainian identities through such assimilation projects, violates the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This convention prohibits "forcibly transferring children of a group to another group", recognising it as an act of genocide.

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 4 June:

Select Russian military commentators continue to complain about superior Ukrainian drone and electronic warfare (EW) capabilities on the battlefield, continuing to highlight the rapid and constant tactical and technological innovation cycles that are shaping the battlespace in Ukraine.
Ukraine and its partners have reportedly drafted a document for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland on 15 June that calls for future engagement with Russia on a limited number of issues connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although the Kremlin remains unlikely to engage in meaningful negotiations on the proposal or any wider settlement to the war in Ukraine.
Russia is conducting a wide-scale hybrid warfare campaign targeting NATO states in tandem with Russian efforts to augment its conventional military capabilities in preparation for a potential conflict with NATO.
A joint investigation by Russian opposition student journal DOXA and open-source outlet Kidmapping highlights the role of the Kremlin-backed Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in Russifying Ukrainian children whom Russian authorities have deported to Russia.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin named Andrei Turchak, First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council and United Russia Secretary, the acting governor of the Altai Republic on 4 June.
Newly appointed Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov reportedly invited select Russian war correspondents and milbloggers to meet with him to coopt several Russian information space actors, prompting limited criticism from a prominent Russian milblogger.
Russian forces recently advanced near Vovchansk, Siversk, and Donetsk City.
The Russian military reportedly continues to forcibly send Russian military personnel, including those with serious medical issues, to fight in Ukraine.
Russia continues efforts to militarise deported Ukrainian youth and prepare them for future service in the Russian armed forces.

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