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The Story

The Ukrainian children stolen by Putin

The Story

The Times

Politics, Uk News, News, Long-form Audio, Global News, In-depth Journalism, Daily News, Exclusive Interviews, Audio Storytelling, News Analysis, Current Affairs, Investigative Reporting, Daily News Podcast

3.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 4 May 2023

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Thousands of Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russia since the war began. But why? Where are the children being sent? And who’s trying to find them and bring them home?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.

Guest: Christina Lamb, chief foreign correspondent, The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Clips: SKY, CNN, BBC, International Criminal Court, UATV English, DW News, Ambient City, nathanolson, The infographics show, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, MSNBC.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

Remember what it was like when you were 13 years old. Remember the excitement when you're

0:09.6

about to go on a school trip. Now just imagine, as the bus pulls up, there you are with

0:19.4

your mates, your bads packed, and you're going to spend a few days at a camp by the sea

0:25.0

somewhere you've never been before. You all pile on and find the best seat, preferably

0:33.4

near the back, and wave goodbye to your family.

0:43.0

When you arrive, you go to concerts, you play sports, their activities, it's fun, and

0:49.3

the week flies by. But then, another week passes, and you'll move to a different camp.

0:57.8

This one isn't great, there are no sheets on the beds, and you're forced to wear dirty

1:02.8

old clothes. Then, another week, and another new camp, this one has rats, and you're not

1:13.4

allowed to leave. Then you'll move again, and this time, you're told your parents have

1:20.2

abandoned you, your fed scraps of food, and you'll put up for adoption. This, and experiences

1:28.2

like it, are what we've been told is happening to Ukrainian children in Russia.

1:34.4

Ukraine says 12,000 of its children have been abducted from occupied territories and

1:39.1

taken to Russia. The real figure may exceed 700,000. We know from CCTV footage how the

1:46.1

Russian military has searched for children in this war. One of the mothers, I speak to,

1:50.6

said, it was almost as if all the children have had so much being taken, it was so many

1:56.1

buses. Russians are trying to resettle them throughout the territory of the Russian

2:00.6

Federation as quickly as possible. It can often take months for families to even find

2:06.2

out where their children are. Russia says the children are being rescued. The International

2:15.7

Criminal Court says it's a war crime, and it's issued an arrest warrant for the Russian

2:21.2

President Vladimir Putin. There is a cut and dry international law that is being broken

2:27.4

here with the movement of juveniles across international borders without the permission

...

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