New from @hntrbrkmedia: We found a dozen Ukrainian children listed for adoption on Russian websites. Days after we sent the evidence to Ukrainian prosecutors, the pages disappeared.
How Russia is stealing Ukraine’s future (thread).
How Russia is stealing Ukraine’s future (thread).
Our team cross-checked more than 35,000 profiles on Russian adoption platforms with Ukraine’s Children of War missing persons database.
We identified twelve Ukrainian children between the ages of six and fifteen. They were shown as “Russian orphans.”
We identified twelve Ukrainian children between the ages of six and fifteen. They were shown as “Russian orphans.”
We used image recognition and open-source tools to confirm the matches. The results showed clear signs that these children were Ukrainian, not Russian.
In August, Ukraine’s National Police confirmed that our findings were accurate. They told us the Security Service of Ukraine had opened investigations. Four of the twelve children had already been found and returned home.
Shortly after that confirmation, the Russian data vanished. Every child’s profile returned a “404 not found” message. Whole sections of the adoption websites were deleted.
For Ukraine’s prosecutors, this matters. Forcibly transferring children across national or ethnic lines can meet the legal definition of genocide. Erasing adoption records can help prove intent.
Martin Flaherty, a professor of international law at Fordham University, told us: “If the goal were humanitarian, there would be no reason to hide who these children are. The only explanation for deleting data is to make sure they can never be returned.”
Save Ukraine, a nonprofit that rescues deported children, says this pattern is common. “Once a child enters Russia’s system, their name and documents are changed,” a spokesperson told us. “After that, finding them becomes almost impossible.”
Russia has admitted to deporting 744,000 Ukrainian children. Ukraine has confirmed 19,546 of them by name. As of October 27, 2025, only 1,744 have been returned. Many of the rest are sent to “education” or military camps inside Russia.
Russia continues its claim to subjugate the territory it occupies in Ukraine. Still, Ukraine is working to bring children home, with all the evidence it can find. If you have any of your own, please send it to ideas@hntrbrk.com.
hntrbrk.com/disappeared/
hntrbrk.com/disappeared/
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