The determination marks a legal escalation. Earlier investigations had documented the removal of Ukrainian children from their homes but stopped short of classifying the practice as a crime against humanity — one of the most serious charges under international law.
“The deportation and forcible transfer of children is a grave violation of international law,” Møse added. “Children must never be separated from their families coercively.”
The finding adds to growing legal scrutiny of the Kremlin. In 2023 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
The commission documented the deportation or transfer of more than 1,200 children.
Investigators said the policy was conceived and implemented at the highest levels of Russia’s leadership, including by Putin and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.
Nearly 80 percent of the children documented have not been returned to Ukraine, the report found.
Moscow denies the accusations, saying the children were evacuated from war zones for their protection.