Yale HRL Report: How Gazprom and Rosneft Enable the Deportation of Ukraine’s Children
Emile Foundation co-founder and CEO Mariam Lambert issued the following statement today in response to a new report from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, “Willing Accomplices: Gazprom & Rosneft’s Role in the Transportation and Indoctrination of Ukraine’s Children.”
“The abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children did not just happen. Someone had to plan and execute the systematic separation of nearly 20,000 children from their homes and families. Today’s report from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab provides important new evidence that Gazprom and Rosneft, energy companies controlled by some of Russia’s most powerful oligarchs, have been instrumental in Russia’s plans to abduct and “Russianize” Ukrainian children.
“The report documents how these companies helped in the coordination and facilitation of systems that enabled the transfer, reclassification, and placement of Ukrainian children within Russian-controlled structures, effectively severing them from their identities and families. It shows some of Russia’s most prominent firms have directly supported the effort to strip Ukrainian children of their identities.
“This work is part of a broader effort to combine forensic analysis with human intelligence to identify, locate, and ultimately help return children who have been taken across borders. The Emile Foundation works closely with this ecosystem of researchers, including the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, to translate these findings into real-world efforts to trace and reunite children with their families.
“This report is especially important in light of the fact that on March 12, the U.S. government temporarily lifted economic sanctions against some Russian oil sales, a windfall potentially worth billions to these companies. As the report states, lifting these sanctions “serves to financially reward companies that have actively supported Putin’s systematic campaign to Russify Ukraine’s children.”
“It is vital that the international community hold those responsible for crimes against Ukraine’s children accountable. Now is not the time to reward those responsible with a huge financial windfall.
“I want to thank Nathaniel Raymond and his Yale colleagues for publishing this important work. Telling hard truths is always difficult, but Nathaniel and his team continue to do so, despite the risks and challenges. They demonstrate the good that can be accomplished by putting focus where it truly belongs: on children in danger. The Emile Foundation will continue working with them and with all those who earnestly seek the return of Ukraine’s children.”
– Mariam Lambert, Co-founder & CEO, Emile Foundation