The Russian embassy in the US announced today that the country has welcomes and hosts thousands of children from Ukraine however does not hold them against their will.

Reacting in a report made public yesterday Tuesday, the Russian embassy the Russian embassy via Telegram noted that “the country welcomed children who were forced to flee with their families” to be saved “from the artillery bombardment” of Ukraine, adding that “we make the greatest possible effort so that minors stay with families and in cases of absence or death of parents and relatives, orphans are handed over to foster parents”.

The “Humanitarian Research Laboratory” of the Yale University School of Public Health yesterday released a study funded by the State Department and states that Moscow holds at least 6,000 children from Ukraine, if not more, to facilities in Crimea and parts of Russia with the main purpose of “reforming” them.

It speaks of 43 camps and other facilitiesfor a “large-scale systematic network” operating since the beginning of the invasion.

The children include some who have parents or guardians, others who are considered orphans, some who were taken into care by Ukrainian welfare institutions, and some whose parents or guardians are uncertain because of the war.

Some that passed through the facilities were adopted from Russian families or were given to foster parents or orphanages, according to the Yale Laboratory. The youngest were months old, while some were only 14 years old received military training, according to Nathaniel Raymond, one of the researchers, who added that there is no evidence that any of the children grew up on a battlefield.

Mr. Raymond said the Laboratory’s research shows “a clear violation of the 4th Geneva Convention”, which mandates the protection of civilians in time of war. It also made for a “presumption” of Moscow’s intention to commit “genocide”.