Profiles of Abducted Children from Kherson Appear on Russian Adoption Portal

Profiles of children who were forcibly taken from a children's home in Kherson have been found on a Russian state adoption portal. This alarming revelation was made by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights, in an update on Telegram on Wednesday. Lubinets noted that these profiles were uncovered as a result of a journalistic investigation.

Lubinets emphasized that the information presented on the portal is "completely devoid of any mention of Ukraine or their true origin," which he believes is an attempt to conceal the children's identities. He characterized this as further evidence of a deliberate policy aimed at erasing the Ukrainian identity of these children and an effort to "legalize" their abduction.

"This fact is yet another confirmation of the targeted policy of destroying the Ukrainian identity of our children and the attempts to 'legalize' their abduction," he wrote. Lubinets also referred to this as a "systematic practice" that has been ongoing since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014, consisting of "forced relocation or deportation," followed by "document alteration, adoption, total re-education, and militarization."

"While the world hesitates, Ukrainian children are growing up under the flag of the aggressor, in an atmosphere of coercion, pressure, and fear... children are being stripped of their native language, memory, and identity... preparing them for military service against their own homeland," he noted in his message.

It is important to recall that by the end of 2025, the Humanitarian Research Laboratory at Yale University (HRL) tracked the abduction of Ukrainian children to at least 210 institutions across Russia and occupied territories of Ukraine since the full-scale invasion by Russia in 2022. HRL reported that these institutions range from medical facilities and religious institutions to cadet schools and military bases.

This situation raises concerns not only in Ukraine but also on the international stage, where human rights advocates are calling for action to protect the rights of these children and facilitate their return to their families. It is crucial for the international community not to remain indifferent to the fate of these children, who have become victims of aggression and violence.