Russia accused of transferring Ukraine civilians and children to Russia

 Understanding War:

Russian military-patriotic and civic engagement programs continue to facilitate the deportation of Ukrainian children and teenagers to Russia. A group of teenagers from occupied Chaplynka, Kherson Oblast, took part in the Zarnitsa 2.0 military-patriotic competition at the Avangard military sports camp in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast on September 16.[1] Zarnitsa 2.0 is a revival of a Soviet-era war game aimed at training youth in basic military skills, which Russia has used in occupied Ukraine for the Russification and militarization of Ukrainian children.[2] Russia also uses Zarnitsa 2.0 to deport Ukrainian children to Russia and expose them to further militarization and military-patriotic education, including at the Avangard military sports camp.[3] Teenagers from occupied Chaplynka will attend Zarnitsa 2.0 until September 22 and will participate in combat simulations, tactical medicine and sapper exercises, and practice operating drones.[4] Russian veterans of the war in Ukraine will oversee and “mentor” Ukrainian teenagers during Zarnitsa 2.0.[5] The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) published a report on September 16 that identified 210 locations to which Russia has deported Ukrainian children and found that the vast majority of the locations were explicitly intended to re-educate Ukrainian children.[6] Yale HRL noted that militarization activities occurred at 18.6 percent of these deportation locations, including camps such as Avangard.

Zaporizhia Oblast occupation head Yevgeny Balitsky reported on September 17 that a group of Yunarmia (Young Army Cadets National Movement) cadets from occupied Zaporizhia Oblast took part in the “Train of Heroes” project — a military-patriotic education program that transports children by rail through Russian cities including Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Ufa, Saratov, Volgograd, and Rostov-on-Don.[7] Russian state-owned railway company Russian Railways collaborated with Yunarmia on the “Train of Heroes” project. Zaporizhia Oblast occupation minister of youth policy Yegor Logunov stated that the “Train of Heroes” program shows children “how vast and powerful” Russia is.[8] Yunarmia is a critical component of Russia’s wider Russification and militarization campaign targeting youth in occupied Ukraine and is increasingly facilitating programs that physically remove Ukrainian youth from occupied areas, exposing them to Russification programs within Russia.[9]

Kremlin-appointed Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova directly confirmed the role of the Russian “Day After Tomorrow” program in the deportation of Ukrainian children....
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Russia's war with Ukraine suggests it is trying to reclaim the area and dominate the Ukrainian population.   It is looking like a war of aggression aimed at making Ukraine a part of the Russian Federation.