The Russian “Helping Ours” Foundation facilitated the deportation of 39 Ukrainian children from occupied Luhansk Oblast to a Russian government-controlled medical facility in Moscow Oblast in late March 2025. Russian-controlled Donbas-based media sources reported on March 30 that 39 children from occupied Rubizhne, Kreminna, Lysychansk, and Svatove travelled to the “Klyazma” sanatorium near Moscow for “treatment.” Some portion of the children reportedly travelled with their mothers, although it is unclear how many. Russia’s Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA; notably a Russian federal agency) runs the “Klyazma” sanatorium, which is located just northeast of Moscow. FMBA medical specialists will examine and treat the Ukrainian children to help them “recuperate after difficult life situations.” Russia has reportedly deported over 1,200 Ukrainians, including children, from occupied Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts to the “Klyazma” sanatorium since 2022. ISW previously reported on several instances of cooperation between the “Helping Ours” Foundation and “Klyazma,” suggesting that the two organizations share an institutional-level partnership that facilitates large-scale deportations.
Russia has frequently used the guise of medical or psychological treatment to deport Ukrainian children to Russia, but even the deportation of children for medical reasons is inconsistent with international legal requirements on Russia as an occupying power. Rubizhne, Kreminna, Lysychansk, and Svatove are all within 15 kilometers of the frontline in Ukraine, so Russia is technically legally obligated to facilitate the transfer of children back to territory controlled by Ukraine if they do require immediate medical care. Instead, Russia deported these children over 700 kilometers away from their homes under tenuous circumstances and has provided no clear guarantees for their return to Ukraine.
Key Takeaways:
- The Russian “Helping Ours” Foundation facilitated the deportation of 39 Ukrainian children from occupied Luhansk Oblast to a Russian government-controlled medical facility in Moscow Oblast in late March 2025.
- Russian military intelligence veterans opened a new military-patriotic education club for Ukrainian youth in occupied Crimea. Ukrainian children will train in accordance with Soviet and Russian special forces and counterintelligence doctrine.
- Russia is using the court system in occupied Ukraine to pursue illegal charges and fabricated cases against Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians.
- Russian occupation authorities continue to conduct coerced passportization in occupied Ukraine by requiring Russian citizenship as a prerequisite for obtaining a SIM card.
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