Nicholas D. Kristof: Russia has taken thousands of Ukrainian children and in some cases has put them up for adoption. '[These children] should be a wake-up call to Americans and Europeans fatigued by support for Ukraine.'
Viktoria Borysenko shows a picture of her son, Bohdan, 12, with Daria, the daughter of her sister-in-law, Nadia Borysenko, on her phone in Balakliya, Ukraine, Nov. 4, 2022. When Russians occupied the city, they took the women's children to a summer camp and have not returned them.The children left this town in August for a free summer camp sponsored by the Russian occupiers, enticed by assurances of gifts and of safety from constant shelling.
The youngsters here are among many thousands of Ukrainian children whom Russia has taken from Ukraine and in some cases put up for adoption. The transfer of thousands of children is a stark reminder that this is not a typical armed conflict. These may be war crimes. They should be a wake-up call to Americans and Europeans fatigued by support for Ukraine.Russia doesn’t hide the transfer of Ukrainian children but trumpets it on its television propaganda programs, portraying itself as the savior of abandoned children and showing Russians handing teddy bears to Ukrainian boys and girls.
Yet the situation is also nuanced. I reached Daria on her cellphone, and she didn’t sound like a traditional prisoner: She has friends, takes classes and can use her phone each evening to call her mom. But she unmistakably wants to go home to Ukraine.Russian authorities allow parents to pick up their kids, but only by traveling to Russia through Poland and then other countries.
Another mother in Balakliya, Nadia Borysenko’s sister-in-law, Viktoria Borysenko, whose 12-year-old son, Bohdan, is at the camp, said he told her in phone calls that he and others are treated well but want to return. “They are crying and want to come home,” she said. Olena Matvienko told me that her 10-year-old grandson, Illya Matvienko, was in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol with his mother, Natalya, when both were badly injured by shrapnel. She died in front of Illya, and Russian troops took the boy not to a local hospital but to one in an enclave that Russian-backed separatists have declared the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fraudster Nicholas Bryant Posed As Oil Baron in Anna Delvey-Like SchemeA 26-year-old man is the new Anna Delvey Sorokin ... because he assumed the role of an oil baron heir and chartered a slew of private jets, rented homes that went for $30k a night and a lot more ... until he was nailed by authorities.
Read more »
Meet the Ukrainian ballerinas dancing to preserve their country's cultureAt the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, dancers from the Kyiv City Ballet have more than just choreography on their minds. Most of the performers' families remain in Ukraine as the war there rages on.
Read more »
Ukrainian restaurants launch 'blackout menus' for power outagesRestaurants in Ukraine have created 'blackout menus' to cook by candlelight during power outages. They say they're 'not scared of the dark'.
Read more »
Crews are gradually restoring electricity in the city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials sayCrews are working urgently to restore power across Ukraine. And some residents have evacuated Kherson, where officials are warning of Russian shelling and a harsh winter. Follow live news updates.
Read more »
DC Comics To Introduce New Ukrainian Superhero, CoreIn previous Wildstorm gossip, Bleeding Cool reported on the new makeup of the upcoming Stormwatch superhero team. And that it would include Core – Pavlov
Read more »
Ukrainian newcomers find hope and help at reception in SaskatoonSaskatchewan Minister of Immigration and Career Training Jeremy Harrison said the settlement reception was unprecedented in Canada.Ukrainian newcomers find hope and help at reception in Saskatoon yxe
Read more »