A Russian woman, Olga Dorokhina, took a 4-year-old girl from the occupied part of Kherson Oblast and plans to adopt her, according to an investigation by Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne published on March 10.
Dorokhina’s son was previously killed while fighting against Ukraine, according to the investigation.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, at least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been abducted from occupied territories and transferred to other Russian-controlled areas, Belarus, or Russia itself, according to Ukraine’s national database, Children of War.
Dorokhina spoke about her trip and the girl’s abduction from Ukraine during a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an event, claiming she had "found her daughter" in Kherson Oblast. The child is now under her guardianship.
Suspilne’s investigative team identified Dorokhina as a native of Yelets, Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, who moved to occupied Simferopol in Crimea in 2016.
Her husband, Oleksandr Dorokhin, is a former employee of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service and a veteran of the Chechen war. Her eldest son, Vladislav Dorokhin, served in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet before joining the 810th Marine Brigade to fight in Ukraine, Suspilne reported.
Ukraine has so far managed to return 1,240 abducted children, according to the Children of War database.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over their involvement in the unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children.
Human rights groups have said that Russia's mass abductions of Ukrainian civilians, including children, may constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
