Methodological Challenges and Policy Implications of Russia’s Forced Transfers and Deportations
Over the past four years, various estimates have emerged of the number of children taken to Russia since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is unknown how many Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia or to Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, because Russia has failed to provide this information despite significant international pressure to do so since February 2022.
In their new report, Karolina Hird, Chair of the Abducted Children Working Group of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation’s International Human Rights Task Force, and working group member Dr. Kristina Hook explain why the numbers reported by different agencies differ so widely. Getting the count right matters for the Foundation’s work, through its Center for Reuniting Families of Ukraine, to bring Ukraine’s children home.