Russia is operating a sprawling network of more than 210 facilities where thousands of abducted Ukrainian children are subjected to forced "reeducation" and, in many cases, military training, according to a new report from Yale University's School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab. The findings, published Tuesday, detail what researchers called an "industrial-scale" program of indoctrination, raising allegations of war crimes and intensifying international scrutiny of Moscow's actions.
"Children at some facilities have been engaged in the production of military equipment for Russia's armed forces, including drones," the Yale study said. Executive director Nathaniel Raymond told reporters the effort is "potentially unprecedented," adding, "What we're seeing is an industrialized network of re-education, aka brainwashing to turn Ukrainian children into Russians and, in some cases, to turn certain Ukrainian children into soldiers."
The researchers used publicly available data and commercial satellite imagery, applying standards from the Berkeley Protocol and NATO intelligence assessment frameworks. They identified eight types of facilities-ranging from summer camps and sanatoriums to mental health institutions, military bases, and monasteries-where Ukrainian children have been held since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Children as young as four months old are sent to camps with names such as "forest fairy camp," where they are taught Russian language and patriotic songs. Those aged eight and older are enrolled in cadet schools and receive junior ROTC-style training, while teenagers undergo combat instruction. "Can we confirm that there is a training pipeline at an industrial scale to prepare them for combat operations? Yes, we can," Raymond said, citing satellite imagery that revealed trenches in the shape of Russia's "Z" symbol at one facility.
Ukraine's state-run Bring Kids Back program estimates that more than 19,500 children have been abducted since the war began, with only about 1,600 returned. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would raise the issue next week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he plans to host a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "Many leaders will join us," Zelenskyy said.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Moscow's commissioner for children's rights, accusing them of unlawfully deporting children from occupied Ukrainian territories. The Kremlin has dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential office, said the latest Yale report confirms Kyiv's fears. "It's now clear Russia plans to use Ukraine's own children as a 'weapon' against us and Europe more broadly," he stated.
The Yale lab faced a temporary suspension of U.S. State Department funding earlier this year after the Trump administration cut programs it deemed unnecessary. The funding was restored briefly to transfer satellite and biometric data to Ukrainian authorities. Raymond credited grassroots donors-"Ukrainian-American grandmothers" sending $5 or $10 at a time-for keeping the work alive.
Western leaders have called for the return of abducted children to be included in any potential peace deal. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after meeting with Mr. Trump in Washington, "Every single Ukrainian child abducted by Russia must be returned to their families."
