They are being “militarized and Russified”: Russia has been kidnapping children from Ukraine to re-education camps for years. The Kremlin is apparently working with a partner.
Dec 7, 2025, 2:12 p.mDec 7, 2025, 2:23 p.m
Nilofar Breuer / t-online
Russia makes no secret of it: Russian armed forces have been abducting Ukrainian children from the war-torn country since 2014. Since the invasion began in 2022, Russia has increased this systematic, suspected war crimes approach. According to information from Kyiv, Russia now has around 20,000 Ukrainian children in its power.
Children take part in military training in the Rostov region of Russia (archive image): Russia systematically abducts children from Ukraine.image: imago
As Kateryna Rashevska, a legal expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights of Ukraine, explained to a subcommittee of the US Congress on Wednesday, at least two of the abducted children were forcibly taken to a camp in North Korea. North Korea is considered a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“12-year-old Mischa from the occupied Donetsk region and 16-year-old Liza from occupied Simferopol were sent to the Songdowon camp in North Korea, 9,000 km from their homeland,” said Rashevska. There the children would be taught to “destroy Japanese militarists.” They were also supposed to meet Korean veterans who attacked the US naval ship Pueblo in 1968, killing and wounding nine American soldiers.
Kateryna Rashevska: Legal expert from the Regional Center for Human Rights of Ukraine speaks before a subcommittee of the US Congress.picture. imago
The Regional Center for Human Rights of Ukraine documented a total of 165 re-education camps in which Ukrainian children are “militarized and Russified,” explains Rashevska. These camps exist in the occupied territories, in Russia, Belarus – and North Korea.
The goal: Ukrainians should “kill each other”
“Russification and militarization cause severe trauma and violate the dignity of children,” the legal expert continued. “At the age of 17, boys receive draft notices for the Russian army.” The goal behind it is clear: “To get Ukrainians to kill each other.”
According to estimates by South Korean and Western intelligence services, North Korea will have sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 alone, primarily to the Kursk region in the southwest of the country. In addition to personnel, Pyongyang also supplied artillery shells, rockets and long-range missile systems.