Ukraine's Military Hackers Find Evidence that Russia Abducted Ukrainian Children

Ukraine's military hackers have discovered detailed Russian records that documented the forced relocation and transfers of Ukrainian children from occupied regions, by compromising servers in Crimea.

The cyberattack

Hackers from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) have breached Russian servers in Crimea, where they found, then leaked, internal documents related to Russia's forced relocation of Ukrainian children.

The hackers targeted servers that belonged to the Russia-installed Crimean administration. They extracted and published information that revealed how officials within the administration tracked, transported, and reassigned Ukrainian children from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk.

The leaked documents show in detail the children's full names, birth years, school grades, and personal characteristics.

The leaked documents

One document titled "Information about children from Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia region, and L/DNR" groups children by name, age, and region of origin. Another file, labeled "Анкета ребёнка" (Child Profile) includes extensive personal information about a baby born in 2020 from Kherson Oblast. The child has Ukrainian citizenship and was subsequently moved to institutional placement by Russian authorities.

A memo issued by the Simferopol Education Department on September 12, 2022, ordered schools to immediately send records for these children, while making a reference to a directive from Russia's Ministry of Education.

"These thousands of files constitute undeniable evidence of one of Russia's gravest war crimes—the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children," said GUR spokesperson Andrii Yusov. "All documents obtained are now handed over to Ukrainian law enforcement and will serve as critical evidence in criminal investigations and prosecutions."

Another leaked file, titled "List of students from L/DNR and Kherson," shows information about detailed enrollment records for many Ukrainian children sent to Russian schools for the 2024/2025 academic year.

Official response

The GUR agency attributed the hack to its cyber teams and confirmed the authenticity of the leak on its Telegram channel.

"Every crime against the Ukrainian people will face rightful punishment," the agency said.

Ukraine wants to present the leaked evidence in international courts to support the country’s effort to prosecute Russian officials responsible for the abduction scheme.