Ukrainian prosecutors have moved forward with a war crimes case against three individuals accused of orchestrating the forced deportation of 15 children from an orphanage in Russian-occupied Mykolaiv to Russian territory in 2022. The case, which Kyiv says is emblematic of Moscow’s systematic removal of Ukrainian minors, is being prepared for both national and international courts.

According to investigators, the children – aged between 10 and 17 – were residents of the Novopetrivka Special School, a state-run facility for orphans and children without parental care. Russian troops entered Novopetrivka on March 24, 2022, during the early months of the full-scale invasion, and soon began visiting the school repeatedly, counting and monitoring the children.

By July 2022, the school’s director attempted to arrange for the children’s transfer to Ukrainian-controlled territory, hoping to spare them from the tightening grip of occupation authorities. The plan, however, was uncovered by armed Russian troops. Investigators say the director was interrogated and the school building was placed under guard, cutting off any further attempts to evacuate the children.

The next day, around 20 armed soldiers arrived, forcibly removing the children, along with the director and her husband, and transporting them to Stepanyvka in the occupied Kherson region. There, they were detained for three months. The village became a........

© Blitz