A resident of Yampol told about the theft of children in Ukraine

Marina Anatskaya, a resident of Yampol in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), told Izvestia on February 17 how children are taken from their parents in Ukraine.

Anatskaya said that local residents are forced to hide their children from the "White Angels" so that they would not be taken away. According to her, some families were forced to lock themselves in their homes and not let the service staff in.

"They were taken away, taken out, even children were taken away, they were taken out without parents. I don't understand where children can be taken without parents. <...> Don't I have the right to live at home or what?" — said the woman.

She also said that the "White Angels" wanted to pick up her daughter, but she passed her off as her granddaughter, who came for a couple of days. The service staff promised to return later and threatened her that they would take the girl away without her knowledge.

In addition to the service's travels, residents of Yampol were often attacked by Ukrainian drones. According to Anatskaya, one of her friends died as a result of a blow from one of them.

"Our friend died at a car dealership — he was blown up by a drone. There were women there, gathering. The drone was hanging, they heard the drone. His mother hid and screamed "hide," he was standing backwards, and it was waving at his back. His leg was blown off, he did not survive, they did not take him," she shared.

"If it's Russian, it means he will lead us, but if not, they will shoot us."

Izvestia's report is about how civilian refugees escaped through the front line from a part of Krasnoarmeysk controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces under Ukrainian fire.

On February 10, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law according to which children can be forcibly evacuated from the territories of active hostilities without parental consent.

Natalia, a resident of the city of Seversk in the DPR, told on February 13 how representatives of the SBU threatened to kidnap her daughter and separate her from her husband for refusing to leave for Kiev-controlled territory. According to the woman, initially, a representative of the SBU came to her home, who brought with her documents to obtain her consent to leave Seversk for subsequent shipment to Ukraine.

Maria Lvova-Belova, the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, said on February 11 that Kiev was intimidating families by separating them from their children with the help of the recently passed law on the forced evacuation of children in Ukraine. According to her, such forced evacuations can contribute to the appearance of arbitrariness on the ground. In addition, the forced separation of children from their parents is always associated with psychological trauma.

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