’Putin raises kidnapped Ukrainian children to fight in future Russian wars’ | Life on the frontline

The UK imposed sanctions on a number of Russians linked to the abduction of Ukrainian children in July this year. British officials said the deportations were designed to “erase Ukrainian cultural and national identity” through the relocation of the children to a network of re-education camps. In this episode of Life on the frontline, the charity Vans Without Borders (VWB) interviewed a Ukrainian soldier stationed in Zaporizhzhia, who said that not only are these children taught to hate Ukraine, but also placed in military training to fight for Russia in future wars. “They are raised in the military… they are trained to throw grenades and dig in from a very young age,” the soldier said. “They take the most precious thing away from them, they take their childhood.” It is not known how many children have been abducted as part of Russia’s program. Ukrainian officials say they have identified almost 20,000 victims, but some fear the true total number may be far higher. #Ukraine #Russian #warzone Donate to Vans Without Borders: Exclusive documentary mini-series by Valerie Browne Watch the whole Life on the Frontline series: In this three-part series special, Valerie Browne, a Telegraph video journalist, joined the charity near the front line in Ukraine. She travelled with VWB to a Zaporizhzhia army base approximately 30km from the front line, where they were shown a weapons cache and taken to a practice shooting range. Jack Ross is a volunteer aid worker who heads the charity VWB. He and his team have braved countless dangers and travelled along bombed-out roads since March 2022. They have brought relief to vulnerable people left to starve in the wake of Putin’s invasion. After more than a year of distributing aid across Ukraine, VWB has forged contacts within the Ukrainian army and security intelligence forces, who grant them interviews with some of the most hard-to-reach people. Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: Get the latest headlines: and are websites of The Telegraph, the UK’s best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.