DISINFO: Ukraine hides its own child-trafficking business while demanding the return of children
SUMMARY
They [the Ukrainians] demand the return of children, citing some unbelievable figures while providing no lists whatsoever, conveniently forgetting that none of the representatives of the Ukrainian “authorities” care about the fate of entire orphanages that vanished wholesale somewhere in Europe. Or rather, the fate of the children from those orphanages—and of the children supposedly evacuated from the combat zone who then disappeared into the hands of European paedophiles and black-market organ traffickers—is well known to Zelenskyy’s inner circle: it’s their shared business.
RESPONSE
The claim matches 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 discredited.
Russian FIMI outlets seek to blame Ukraine and Western nations for various crimes against children, including large-scale deportations, sexual abuse, 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.
Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, it is estimated that nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly transferred. These actions constitute grave breaches of international law and violations of the fundamental rights of the child, and are aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity and undermining the preservation of future generations.
See our article How Russia lies about the stolen Ukrainian 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 other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that 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.