ICC-Wanted Putin Faces New Allegations Over Child Soldier Scheme

Kyiv alleges systematic abduction and forced conscription of Ukrainian minors, calling it a terror-driven strategy to erase national identity.

New Delhi,26 Jul. 25

Ukraine has accused Russia of abducting Ukrainian children from occupied territories and later forcing them into military service once they turn 18, compelling them to fight against their own homeland. Ukrainian officials claim this is part of a systematic, state-backed effort allegedly sanctioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian troops are now encountering these young conscripts on the battlefield. Many of them, he said, were taken as minors and subjected to prolonged ideological indoctrination and military-style training in Russian-occupied regions.

One such victim, Vlad Rudenko, now 19, shared his experience with The Times of London. Rudenko was just 16 when Russian forces allegedly abducted him at gunpoint during their occupation of Kherson in October 2022. He was taken to Crimea and placed in a re-education facility, where he spent three years undergoing daily drills, singing the Russian national anthem, and training with weapons. According to Rudenko, teenagers were trained according to their age — younger teens were given dummy rifles, while older ones used live ammunition.
Eventually, Rudenko escaped with help from his mother and managed to cross back into Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Yermak called the practice part of a broader campaign by what he described as a “terroristic regime.” He said the strategy serves two goals: to replenish Russia’s diminishing troop numbers and to inflict emotional trauma on Ukrainian forces by forcing them to fight their own people.
“The Russians want to destroy a generation of Ukrainians by turning them into weapons against their own country. Putin’s ultimate goal is to erase Ukraine,” Yermak said.

The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which works with Kyiv to trace missing Ukrainian children, has identified dozens of indoctrination camps run by Russia. In these facilities, children are immersed in Russian language and culture, barred from speaking Ukrainian, and molded into what the Kremlin describes as “ideal citizens.”
Some of these children have even been featured on Russian state media. One such case involves a boy from Mariupol reportedly adopted by Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights.

In response to these actions, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for President Putin in 2023, with child abductions being a central charge. While the Kremlin denies any wrongdoing, international human rights groups have repeatedly condemned the practice, warning of its lasting humanitarian and psychological consequences.