Four occupation officials have been charged in absentia with breaching the laws and customs of war as part of a premeditated conspiracy by a group of individuals. According to the investigation, they took part in the deportation of 53 children from three children’s homes in the temporarily occupied cities of Donetsk and Makiivka to Russia in October 2022. None of the children from this group have yet been returned to Ukraine.
Briefly about the main points
- Fifty-three children from children’s homes were evacuated from the occupied cities of Donetsk and Makiivka.
- The investigation has named four officials implicated in organising the removal.
- The children were transported via Rostov-on-Don to the Moscow Region.
- Russian authorities have begun processing the paperwork and granting Russian citizenship to the children.
- 28 children were placed in the care of the Russians; none of this group were returned.
How the evacuation of the children was organised
According to the investigation, the so-called «DPR» Minister of Health was responsible for the administrative formalities» Dmytro Hartsev. The head of the occupying «State Service for Family and Children’s Affairs» Svitlana Maiboroda co-ordinated transport, the transfer of personal files and the subsequent placement of the pupils.
Managers of children’s homes Vyacheslav Vysyagin and Viktor Goncharov They organised the gathering of the children and personally accompanied them during their evacuation. The group was taken by bus to Rostov-on-Don, from where they were flown by a special «Russia» air squadron to the Moscow Region and distributed amongst social centres.
Charges brought in Russia and allegations against those involved
Upon arrival, the Russian authorities began processing the children’s documents in accordance with Russian legislation, granting them citizenship and entering them into the state database. The children’s profiles soon appeared on the adoption portal. It is known that 28 children were placed in the care of Russian citizens.
Children in this group continue to be immersed in a Russian educational, informational and cultural environment. A foreign identity is being imposed on them and attempts are being made to sever their ties with Ukraine, which is a continuation of a deliberate policy of Russification of Ukrainian children.
Gartsev, Maiboroda, Vysyagin and Goncharov were notified of the charges against them in absentia. According to the investigation, the case file contains documented decisions, orders, minutes of meetings, the handover of documents and the entire route of the deportation. Charges brought in absentia are the first step towards holding each of the individuals involved personally accountable; war crimes are not subject to a statute of limitations.
