UK Defence Intelligence has posted an analysis of Russia’s campaign of abducting Ukrainian children.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence update dated 3 September on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: UK intelligence reports that Russia is conscripting young Ukrainians into its armed forces once they turn 18. Many of them were abducted as children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The update notes that over 19,500 Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred or deported by Russian authorities to mainland Russia and illegally occupied Crimea. Some open sources estimate that up to 35,000 Ukrainian children may have been deported in total.

UK intelligence estimates that around 6,000 Ukrainian children have been placed in a network of “re-education camps”. When they reach their late teens, they are transferred to military training centres.

The update says the Russian leadership appears to “view abducted Ukrainian children as a potential source of both current and future personnel for the Russian military”.

Quote: “The Russian senior leadership highly likely perceives that their potential deaths in the Russian military will entail minimal if any objection or protest from the Russian public, the vast majority of whom have limited if any awareness of the abductions.”

Background:

On 3 September, the UK government imposed sanctions on individuals involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children.UK intelligence recently analysed Russia’s offensive operations in July. Earlier, it stated that Russia has lost about 260,000 soldiers killed and wounded in 2025 so far.

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