We return to a subject we last did in 2023 on the illegal transfer of children of Ukraine from Russian-occupied territories. That was prompted by the ICC arrest warrants including against Russian president Vladimir Putin.

What we now know is that 19,000 plus children – with their names and details – have been deported. But as Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir, the Council of Europe’s Special Representative on this issue, points out, within the temporarily occupied territories, there are 1.6 million children and we do not have a clear overview about their situation and how their identities may be being stolen from them via enforced Russification.

In our earlier pod, Yulia Ioffe made the case for considering this alleged crime as a crime against humanity and a possible genocide. And in Sweden, we point out that the first-ever case of genocide through the transfer of Yezidi children, in Syria and Iraq has been confirmed on appeal this month.

There’s also a link to other elements on the accountability structure being built right now – lots of Council of Europe activity – the Ukraine register of damages now has a category related to children. And there will be a new civil claims commission inaugurated in December in The Hague.