Allegation of forced adoption – SOS Children’s Villages takes action against a Russian association

In this case, “it can still be assumed that there is a worrying link to forced resettlement,” the organization continues. There are no indications that SOS Children’s Villages is involved. However, there is information that the chairman of the board of SOS Children’s Villages Russia is the editor-in-chief of a children’s magazine in which propaganda content is distributed. “We strongly oppose the use of children for any kind of political work and propaganda and condemn any form of forced adoption, forced resettlement or forced naturalization,” the organization emphasizes.

“Until the full clarification” no more money
The current situation calls for measures against the Russian club. In addition to freezing international money flows “until the situation in Russia is fully clarified”, SOS Children’s Villages Austria, as founding country and global trademark owner, has also launched a trademark investigation procedure.

The ZDF magazine “frontal” reported last week that the international aid organization was involved in Russia’s kidnapping of Ukrainian children. This was sharply rejected by SOS Children’s Villages last week. “We have nothing to do with the kidnappings. We are doing our job and helping children in need,” said spokesperson Jakob Kramar-Schmid. He spoke of the “dilemma” that the children would end up on the streets if they were not helped, stating that the workers in Russia “did an incredible job”, especially as they were “under great political pressure”. According to SOS Children’s Villages, it cares for more than 600 children in Russia.

Netrebko as godmother
In this specific case it concerns the SOS Children’s Village Tomilino near Moscow. After the “frontal” investigation, the settlement was visited in December 2022 by Russian child rights official Maria Lvowa-Belowa. Your agency organizes forced adoptions of Ukrainian children for the purpose of Russification, the report said. Propaganda photos of kidnapped Ukrainian children were taken during her visit. The care institution’s sponsor has been the Russian-Austrian star soprano Anna Netrebko since 2007. At the beginning of this year, Ukraine imposed its sanctions as an alleged propagandist of the aggressor state. In the past, the SOS Children’s Village, now home to clearly abducted Ukrainian children, was also considered a good example of Austro-Russian relations. At the beginning of 2004, the children there were visited by the then First Ladies of Russia and Austria, Lyudmila Putina and Margot Klestil-Löffler.

The kidnapping of minors is one of Russia’s most outrageous acts in Ukraine. According to the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, Dmytro Lubinets, a total of 16,207 children had been deported by early February. “11,593 children were taken directly to the Russian Federation,” he told the Standard. 347 children were reported missing to the Ukrainian police. “However, these are only recorded cases, when in reality there are hundreds of thousands of such children.”

“A Sign of Genocide”
According to Lubinets, simplified rules now apply to the adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia. “Kidnappings have and often take place under the guise of evacuation. Ukrainian children can be abducted from various institutions for pseudo-rehabilitation. Such cases are also known to us. And then these children are brought to Russian families to be raised,” said the human rights commissioner. He sees a serious violation of international law: the kidnappings are “a sign of genocide”.