The OSCE Moscow Mechanism has concluded that Russia’s systematic indoctrination and militarization of Ukrainian children may constitute crimes against humanity, while certain individual cases show signs of war crimes.
The findings are presented in the report, “On Possible Violations and Abuses of International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law, and International Criminal Law Related to the Militarization and Indoctrination of Ukrainian Children by the Russian Federation,” according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy.
The report states that Russia’s actions toward Ukrainian children represent a deliberate and systematic effort to destroy Ukrainian identity. The mission concluded that the systematic indoctrination and militarization of children may qualify as the crime against humanity of persecution on discriminatory grounds, while specific acts—including torture and unlawful deportation—bear the characteristics of war crimes.
The experts also noted that the forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children remain among the most serious documented violations committed during the war. According to the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, 20,610 Ukrainian children have so far been identified as having been deported or forcibly displaced.
Independent OSCE experts further concluded that, after being deported to Russia, Ukrainian children were frequently placed with foster families or adopted under Russian law, in violation of the Geneva Convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
