Ukraine Says Russia Abducts Children and Trains Them to Fight

Ukrainian officials told CBS News they possess evidence that Russia is abducting Ukrainian children and training them to fight against fellow Ukrainians. The claim marks the first time Ukrainian officials have publicly made this accusation, which goes beyond earlier reports of state-sponsored reeducation programs.

Background on child transfers The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in 2023 over what it described as unlawful deportation of children. Russian officials have called the transfers a humanitarian effort to care for war orphans. Ukrainian officials said they have documented at least 20,000 abducted children and suspect the actual number is higher.

Sanctions and funding links A March report by the U.S. government-funded Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale concluded that two Russian state-owned energy companies helped fund reeducation of more than 2,000 Ukrainian children. The same report noted that a temporary U.S. sanctions waiver on Russian oil sales has generated revenue for those companies.

Ukrainian officials told CBS News they have discussed stricter sanctions with members of Congress in response to the alleged child transfers. "Lifting sanctions is a help for the soldiers of Russia," the Ukrainian leader said in the interview. International humanitarian law treats children as non-combatants and prohibits their use in armed conflict.