FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Kidnapped children are sent to indoctrination centers linked to Russian oil companies Gazprom and Rosneft
Thousands of children abducted from their homes in Ukraine and forcibly sent to Russia during the conflict have ended up in military training camps linked to two of the country's largest oil companies, Gazprom and Rosneft.
The International Criminal Court has charged Vladimir Putin with war crimes over the "illegal deportation" of children abducted from Ukraine.
The extent of the Russian mechanism behind child abductions has now been revealed, with the country's major energy companies found to have facilitated the transportation and re-education of more than 2,000 children in the period 2022–2025.
The UK has imposed sanctions on both companies as part of efforts to limit the revenue being used to fund Putin's war in Ukraine.
Researchers at Yale University, who have been investigating forced displacements together with The i Paper, analyzed evidence from open sources to link Gazprom (state-owned) and Rosneft (state-controlled) to filtration camps in Russia and in Russian-occupied Crimea since 2008.
Rosneft has denied all allegations contained in the Yale report and has called the findings "disinformation."
In these camps, kidnapped Ukrainian children are subjected to pro-Russian indoctrination, while some are distanced from their families. These camps often serve as refuges, and some even provide military training for the children.
In their report, researchers at the Yale Humanitarian Research Laboratory state that a Gazprom subsidiary, Gazprom Transgaz Ekaterinburg, published photos and videos of children receiving military training in August 2022.
"In this activity, children performed military exercises, hand-to-hand combat, grenade throwing, and firearm shooting," the report states.
According to the findings, at least 2,158 children from Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia have been sent to at least six camps that are owned by Gazprom subsidiaries, sponsored by Gazprom and Rosneft subsidiaries, or by their trade union organizations since 2022.
"This study concludes that Gazprom and Rosneft, under the direction of executives financially and politically connected to Putin, are consciously aiding the Kremlin's agenda to carry out a large-scale Russification of Ukrainian children," the report says.
The children rescued and returned to Ukraine have shown physical and psychological signs of trauma, requiring specialized therapy to recover. Some have recounted disturbing experiences, including being forcibly stripped and physically searched by their captors.
“This study is the first public demonstration that these companies play a fundamental role in Russia’s systematic campaign to deport and indoctrinate children,” said Nathaniel Raymond, the lab’s executive director.
The revelation comes after US sanctions on Russian fuel were temporarily eased by Donald Trump to ease the energy supply crisis caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran. As a result, Gazprom and Rosneft are among the first companies linked to the Russian Federation to be linked to Putin's alleged war crimes while simultaneously profiting from another conflict.
The evidence found includes a 2022 statement by Alexander Kochagin, chairman of the Oil, Gas and Construction Workers' Union of Russia, who said his organization collaborated with the Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg Trade Union subsidiary to "provide vacation" for 1,200 children from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, sending them to camps in southern Russia.
The authors emphasize that Gazprom and Rosneft act as "willing collaborators" in activities that have led to the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for Putin, but they did not provide an assessment of whether these companies could face legal consequences.
The researchers also found that 80 percent of the structures identified as involved in the transfer and indoctrination of Ukrainian children to Russia and occupied Crimea are not sanctioned by the US or Europe.
Yale University has been investigating the abduction, indoctrination, and military training of Ukrainian children at at least 210 facilities in Russia and the occupied territories since 2023. The evidence collected is being shared with international law enforcement authorities and the Ukrainian government to assist in the return of the children.
The i Paper reported in March 2025 that funding for the team had been cut off during the Trump administration, but the decision was later reversed. The team is currently independently funded.
According to the "Bring Kids Back UA" initiative, launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, over 20,000 cases of "illegal deportation and forcible transfer of children" have been reported, while 2,058 of them have been returned so far.
Gazprom did not respond to requests for comment. Rosneft denied the allegations and said the report's findings constituted "a fabrication."
The Kremlin strongly denies wrongdoing, claiming that Russian adoptions are intended to help "abandoned" children. /Adapted from Pamphlet /
Lini një Përgjigje