Ukrainian law enforcement officers served notices of suspicion in absentia to four occupation officials over the forced deportation of 53 children to Russia. The October 2022 transfer of children from childcare centers in occupied Donetsk and Makiivka constituted a planned state policy of Russification rather than a legitimate evacuation, according to the Prosecutor General’s office.
Notices of Suspicion Issued for Forced Deportation
Four Occupation Officials Named in Investigation
The investigation identified four primary individuals responsible for executing the transfer of the 53 children. Dmytro Hartsev, acting as the so-called “DPR Minister of Health,” handled the administrative processing for the operation.
Svitlana Maiboroda, heading the occupying “State Service for Family and Children Affairs,” coordinated transportation arrangements, transferred personal files, and managed the subsequent placement of the minors. Meanwhile, the physical collection and removal of the children were organized by Viacheslav Vysiahin and Viktor Honcharov, who served as the heads of the respective childcare facilities.
All four suspects were notified in absentia of suspicion regarding violations of the laws and customs of war committed by a group acting in prior conspiracy.
A Calculated Route to the Moscow Region
The children were loaded onto buses in the temporarily occupied territories and transported directly to Rostov-on-Don. From there, special flight detachment aircraft belonging to the Russian state fleet flew the minors to the Moscow region.
Upon arrival, the children were distributed among various social centers. Russian agencies immediately initiated document processing under Russian legislation, which included granting citizenship, entering the minors into the state database, and placing their profiles on adoption portals.
Guardianship and the Long Shadow of Russification
Twenty-eight of the 53 deported children have been placed under the guardianship of Russian families. Investigators report that to date, none of the children from this specific group have been returned to Ukraine.
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko stated that the children have spent virtually their entire conscious lives within the aggressor country, growing up in a distinct educational, informational, and cultural environment. Law enforcement officials emphasize that the documentation of meetings, orders, and travel routes forms a solid basis for ongoing accountability, noting that war crimes carry no statute of limitations.
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