Russian occupation authorities publish database of Ukrainian children for adoption, sortable by hair and eye color
The Russian-installed Education and Science Ministry in Ukraine’s partially occupied Luhansk region has published a searchable database of Ukrainian orphans, listing them as available for adoption.
The database contains the profiles of 294 children under the age of 17. Each entry includes the child’s name, photograph, and a brief description of their personality and interests. Users can filter the profiles by gender, age, eye and hair color, and whether the child has siblings.
“The way they describe our children is no different from a slave catalog. This is modern-day child trafficking, and the world must put a stop to it,” said Mykola Kuleba, head of the organization Save Ukraine, who was the first to draw attention to the site.
Kuleba said many of the children listed were born before Russian forces occupied parts of Luhansk and held Ukrainian citizenship. According to him, some lost their parents in Russian attacks, while others were issued Russian documents as a way to legitimize their removal.
Novaya Gazeta reported that a similar adoption database was previously published in 2021 on the website of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic’s” Labor Ministry.
