“Nazis” and “sex slavery”: how Russia lies about Ukraine to justify child abduction

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Russia uses three main messages to justify the deportation of Ukrainian children: “The Russian Federation is a paradise”, “Ukraine does not care about its children”, and “The West exploits children”. This is stated in the report of the Center for Combating Disinformation of the NSDC, which was published on June 1, on the International Day for the Protection of Children. Since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, children have become a tool of the Russian propaganda machine, but information campaigns around the topic of child abduction have been going on since 2014. The agency investigated how the Russians justify these crimes. “In order to create the impression that the deported children in Russia are better off than in Ukraine – Russian propaganda creates a positive image of Russia’s actions. Enemy information resources actively disseminated statements of key persons involved in the deportation of children, which reflect the main narrative “Russia is real” a paradise for children”. The above-mentioned narrative was formed during the occupation of Crimea in 2014 and at the beginning of the war in Donbas,” says the CPD. Read also: “Re-education camps” and the change of age: a human rights activist told how Russians kidnap children. Collage: Center for countering disinformation From February 24 In 2022, Russians use information influence campaigns in three areas: Russia is a real “paradise” for children (the first message under the area dates from February 24, 2022). Ukraine does not care about its own children (from February 26, 2022). The West uses Ukrainian children for its own purposes (as of April 29, 2022). In the first direction, Russia is spreading the following false propaganda messages: Russia has created safe conditions for the evacuation of children from the TOT of Ukraine; Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia are getting better living conditions: adoption by benevolent Russians families, the best education, medicine, the opportunity to visit clubs, clothing, food, etc., children from Ukraine are given the opportunity to undergo rehabilitation and recovery in the best sanatoriums of Russia and Crimea; deported Ukrainian children can continue to study the Ukrainian language; after the end of the “special operation”, the children will be able to return to the “liberated new regions” of Russia, if their parents or close relatives remained there; at their own will, children can voluntarily obtain Russian citizenship. Read also: Russians beat kidnapped Ukrainian children for disobedience – Gerasimchuk In the second direction, the enemy is spreading the following messages: Ukraine is not interested in the fate of the children who ended up in the TOT; during active military operations, the Armed Forces of Ukraine covered themselves with children as human shields; The Armed Forces fire at children on their native land; Ukraine does not need the return of children to their homeland; The Russian Federation takes children out of hot spots so that they are not injured during shelling. Russia also involved the permanent representative of the Russian Federation at the UN, Vasyl Nebenzya, in spreading disinformation as part of the described campaign. On March 20, 2023, he stated that “Russia is ready to return the children taken out of Ukraine when it is safe there.” “The diplomat” added that the children were allegedly “moved because of the danger posed by hostilities.” On May 5, 2023, on the air of the “Russia 24” TV channel, Human Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova stated that there were no official requests from Kyiv regarding the return of Ukrainian children. Her speech was immediately picked up by Russian Telegram channels and mass media, spreading this statement as much as possible and creating the illusion that Ukraine does not care about its own children. “For the greater effect of the second disinformation campaign, the Russian side is trying to emphasize the fact that the Office of the President did not officially react to the actions of the Kremlin, because the authorities of Ukraine are not interested in the security of their people and they are not going to protect their people,” – added the TSP. And within the framework of the third direction, the following propaganda messages should be highlighted: Ukrainian children who left for European countries become victims of trafficking; Ukrainian children who left for European countries become objects of sexual exploitation; pedophilia is widespread in the West; children are taken from Ukrainian refugees; The West is killing Ukrainian children by supplying Ukrainians with weapons. Since the spring of 2022, the Russian mass media began to spread the narrative that Ukrainian children who left for European countries are victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. In particular, referring to an English-language article published on the Aol. platform, pro-Kremlin Telegram channels tried to discredit the British sponsorship program for Ukrainians “Homes for Ukraine”, spreading messages about the risks of human trafficking and sex slavery. “We note that the exploitation of children during war is one of the most terrible violations of children’s rights in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention. By spreading the above-mentioned statements, Kremlin propaganda wants to create an image of Ukraine as a “terrorist state,” say propaganda researchers. Those involved in the deportation Ukrainian children are considered to be such persons as the Commissioner for Children’s Rights of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova, Prime Minister Mishustin, Minister of Education Kravtsov, Minister of Health Murashko, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation Tetyana Moskalkova and others. Russian Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova, the occupation “ombudsman” of ORDO (Daria Morozova) and ORLO (Viktoria Serdyukova), as well as Vasyl Nebenzia. In particular, Serdyukova stated that “Ukrainians are Nazis” who kill civilians, and Zakharova – that children are sexually abused exploited in the West. Maria Lvova-Belova actively spreads misinformation and justifies the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, and her claims are spread by propagandist Solovyov. She accused the Ukrainian side of not evacuating children from Mariupol and Bakhmut, the Russians took children away with the consent of their parents, and the Children’s Ombudsman of Ukraine allegedly does nothing to return the child home. Also, Lvova-Belova, whom the International Criminal Court wants to arrest for war crimes (genocide), has repeatedly spread fake messages related to the narrative “servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine commit war crimes.” The Russian official lied that during active hostilities in Mariupol, the Armed Forces of Ukraine “hid themselves with children” and “exposed them to the windows where there were snipers.” Read also: Children about the “special operation”: how Russia brainwashes schoolchildren with propaganda about Ukraine

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