Ukrainian children abducted by Russia were transported to North Korea

During hearings in the US Congress, human rights activist Kateryna Rashevska reported that some Ukrainian children abducted during the war were likely transported to children’s camps in North Korea. This information has become important in the context of international demands for the return of children who were deported from Ukraine.

Rashevska pointed to specific cases, in particular, 12-year-old Misha from the Donetsk region and 16-year-old Lisa from Crimea. The children, she said, were subjected to ideological indoctrination, “raised” with hostility towards other countries.

She indicated that her organization had recorded 165 camps in which Ukrainian children were undergoing the process of militarization and Russification. Such institutions exist not only in the occupied territories but also in Russia, Belarus, and North Korea.

Rashevska presented photos and other materials that became part of the evidence base. These allegations have raised international concern, and on December 3, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that Russia urgently return children who have been removed or deported during the conflict. The initiative has been supported by numerous countries, including the United States, which has described it as an essential step to pressure Moscow and protect children’s rights.

An independent fact-finding mission is currently underway, with journalists and human rights groups working to confirm the whereabouts of individual children and their routes.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, documentation of child displacement has documented thousands of such situations. Ukrainian authorities estimate the scale of deportations to be in the tens of thousands, with the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Daria Gerasymchuk, stating that over 19,500 children may be involved in these processes.