CCTV captures chilling footage of Putin’s soldiers raiding Ukrainian orphanage to take children
At least 52 orphans were sent to the care of locals before Russian soldiers advanced, officials say
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Russian soldiers and agents have been caught on CCTV stalking the premises of a Ukrainian orphanage, apparently seeking children to take.
Throughout the 10-month invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces have repeatedly been accused of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-held territories.
The video footage shows men from Russia’s secret police, FSB, with armed soldiers carrying rifles entering the building. The armed Russian can be seen entering rooms on the premises according to the footage, gathered by Sky News.
Authorities in charge of the orphanage said that they had evacuated the children ahead of time. Volodymyr Sahaidak, the director of an orphanage in the village of Stepanivka outside Kherson, said that he started “hiding children because we understood they would take them", calling it the “scariest thing”.
At least 52 orphans were sent to the care of local people before the Russian soldiers arrived he said. Mr Sahaidak told Sky News that the children’s files were confiscated by Russians hoping to find their whereabouts.
The men confiscated all the files relating to children and it is also alleged they also stole computers along with files because they could not figure out where the children were,
The 61-year-old placed some of the children with seven of his staff, others were taken to distant relatives and some of the older ones remained with him, he said. “It seemed that if I did not hide my children they would simply be taken away from me,” he added.
The Ukrainian government alleges that 13,000 children have been deported or abducted during the war.
Suspecting Russians of seizing orphan children and sending them to Russia, the staff at the children’s regional hospital in Kherson city began fabricating orphans’ medical records to make it appear like they were too ill to move.
At least 1,000 children were seized from schools and orphanages in the Kherson region during Russia’s eight-month occupation of the area, local authorities have said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments