Ukrainian Children Taken to Russia by Force

Ukrainian Children Taken to Russia by Force

Olga Lopatkina is a Ukrainian mother of six children. She had adopted the children, orphans² who had lost their parents, legally taking them into her family as her own. A few months ago, the children were in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and unable to leave. She was worried about them.

The children had spent their vacation in the port city. But then the war with Russia began. Her adopted children were suddenly alone and afraid in a city at war. All they had now was her oldest son, Timofey, who was 17 years old. He promised to take care of his younger siblings⁴.

There was no clear choice for Olga. Trying to rescue the children herself would be dangerous. Getting others to help the children might put them in danger. That was the beginning of her battle against Russia.

Associated Press reporters said that Russia is openly working to take Ukrainian children and bring them up as Russians. They found thousands of children separated from their parents in shelters in Mariupol and other cities and at homes for orphans in the Russian-supported separatist territories of Donbas. They include those whose parents were killed by Russian bombing and others in the care of government organizations.

Russia claims that the children do not have parents or guardians⁵ to look after them, or the parents are not available. But the AP reported that officials have sent Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-held territories without getting their approval. They lied to the children, saying that their parents did not want them. AP said Russia used the children for propaganda⁶ and gave them Russian families and citizenship⁷.

AP said its investigation⁸ is the largest to date on the taking of Ukrainian children. It is the first to follow the process all the way to those already growing up in Russia. The AP spoke⁹ to many parents, children and officials in both Ukraine and Russia. It used emails, letters, Russian documents and Russian state media.

Sign of genocide

Whether or not the children have parents, raising the children of war in another country or culture can be a sign of genocide. That is, it is an attempt to remove the identity of an enemy nation. Lawyers say that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for the policy. He has openly supported adoptions¹¹.

Stephen Rapp is a former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues. He is helping¹² Ukraine bring legal charges against Russia over the children. Even when parents are dead, Rapp said, their children must be sheltered, cared for, or adopted in Ukraine rather than sent to Russia.

Russian law bars the adoption¹⁰ of foreign children. But in May, Putin signed an order making it easier for Russia to permit adoptions and give citizenship to Ukrainian children without parental¹³ care. The law also makes it harder for Ukraine and surviving family members to win them back.

Russia also has prepared a list of Russian families for Ukrainian children and pays them for each child who gets citizenship — up to $1,000 for those with disabilities.

Petro Andryushchenko is an adviser¹⁴ to the Mariupol mayor. He said, "It is absolutely a terrible story." He claimed hundreds of children were taken from Mariupol. "We don't know if our children have an official parent or (stepparents) or something else because they are forcibly disappeared by Russian troops."

The situation is complex because many children in Ukraine's orphanages¹⁵ are not orphans at all. Ukraine's government said that most children of the state "are not orphans, have no serious illness or disease and are in an institution because their families are in difficult circumstances."

It is difficult to find the exact number of Ukrainian children sent to Russia. Ukrainian officials claim it is nearly 8,000. Russia has not given a number, but officials regularly announce the arrival of Ukrainian orphans in Russian military planes.

Olga Lopatkina's teenage son Timofey had become like a father to all his stepbrothers and stepsisters. Three had long-term illnesses or disabilities, and the youngest was just seven years old. They suffered through the intense bombing. They tried to leave Mariupol but pro-Russia forces at a checkpoint would not accept the children's documents.

Instead, the officials took the children to a hospital in the Donetsk People's Republic, or DPR, a separatist Russian-controlled area in Ukraine. The Donetsk officials told Lopatkina she could have her children back — if she came through Russia to Donetsk to get them in person.

Lopatkina feared a trap. If she went to Russia, she might never be able to leave. She and her husband had moved to France where she took a job at a factory.

The children asked when they could go home to their mother. They were badly fed, hit and mistreated, Timofey said.

After two months of negotiation¹⁶, DPR officials finally agreed to let a volunteer, with permission from Lopatkina, collect the children. They asked Timofey if he and Olga's other children wanted to go back to his foster¹⁷ family or stay in Donetsk.

"Now that I have a chance, I will, of course, go home to my parents," he told them.

Together again

Timofey met his father in Berlin. They drove to France, where Timofey went to meet his mother at the factory as a surprise.

When Timofey arrived, she was in shock. For him, the happiness was intense, like nothing he had ever experienced before.

Back at the house, the other children were waiting. They ran toward their mother and jumped into her arms. "Let me see you!" she screamed. The two dogs joined the party, barking.

It took Timofey several days before he could believe he was really back with his parents. He no longer had to act like a father to his siblings. "I kept my promise," he said. "I'm a child now."

Words in This Story

adopt –v. to take a child of other parents legally as your own

orphan¹ – n. a child whose parents are dead.

sibling³ – n. your brothers and sisters.

absolutely –adv. completely or totally

institution – n. a building where certain people are looked after

circumstance –n. (often pl.) a condition or fact that affects a situation

foster –adj. describing a situation in which a child lives and is cared for by people who are not their parents

1 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

2 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

3 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

4 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

5 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

6 propaganda   

n.宣传，宣传机构

参考例句：

• A lot of propaganda has painted him as bad.大量宣传把他说得很坏。
• Art may be used as a vehicle for propaganda.艺术可以用作为宣传的媒介。

7 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

11 adoptions   

n.采用，收养( adoption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Adoption agencies are always so open to alternative family adoptions. 领养中介机构永远都对领养家庭敞开。 来自电影对白
• The number of adoptions has grown in the past year. 去年，收养子女的数字增加了。 来自互联网

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

14 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

15 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

16 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

17 foster   

vt.收养，培养，促进；adj.收养的，收养孩子的

参考例句：

• Nowadays young couple sometimes foster.现今年轻夫妇有时领养别人的孩子。
• The captain did his best to foster a sense of unity among the new recruits.队长尽力培养新成员之间的团结精神。