A Generations Old Tale of Abduction
Growing up as a second-generation American meant that some aspects of my home life differed from those of my friends. For instance, the phrase “Fuck Stalin” was a familiar expression in our household, the scent of cabbage often filled the air, and our childhood snacks included sardines. Although I always identified as an American, it was clear that my home had unique characteristics compared to my peers.
I fondly remember when my great-grandmother, Grandma Olga, would babysit my siblings and me. She would sip vodka from a coffee mug while sharing stories from her childhood. Her tales were far from the typical fairy tales you might expect from a grandmother. She often spoke of her family in Ukraine. I vividly recall one instance when I asked her, “But you’re Russian?” Her response has stayed with me ever since: “No child kidnapped by Russia is a Russian child.”
Grandma Olga was born in 1921, the final year of the Ukrainian-Soviet War, in a small town near Ukraine’s northern border. She spent her first 12 years there, working alongside her mother in the home, where she learned the art of cooking and cleaning. In her journals, she recounts the beginning of what is now known as the Holodomor, an artificial famine orchestrated to commit genocide across Ukraine and dismantle the Ukrainian independence movement. Joseph Stalin weaponized this famine to suppress and eradicate nationalist sentiments.
In 1933, in the dead of night, Grandma Olga was forcibly taken from her home. Residing near the borders of the Soviet Union, she recounted how men stormed into her town and seized her from her bed. They placed her in the back of a carriage, where she watched in horror as hordes of men dressed in black captured any children they could find. At only 12 years old, she was torn from her parents, stripped of her identity, and given a new name—one that would become the only one she remembered. Forced to learn Russian, she endured years of coercion before being married off to a Russian man at 16. This harrowing reality reflects a narrative echoed in the lives of countless grandmothers whose stories of survival weave into the broader tapestry of our shared history.
My grandmother’s childhood and what is happening today parallel the detailed past of Ukrainian history. Since the start of the current Russo-Ukrainian war, many Ukrainian children have fled to other countries to find safety. An estimated 2.5 million children have been displaced since the war began, with more than 30,000 reportedly kidnapped and taken to Russia. However, in the past decade, Russia claims to have “rescued” over 700,000 children for what they consider as “humanitarian efforts.” In Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, the Russian military engaged in the “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children. The children illegally deported to Russia in 2014 are now old enough today to be drafted into the Russian army and are being forced to fight against their home country. This attempt to erase Ukrainian identity is not a new tactic for Russia.
Disguised as a humanitarian effort, Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to turn Ukrainian children into Russian citizens, effectively threatening the future of Ukraine. During the siege on Mariupol in 2022, Russian forces kidnapped fleeing children who were trying to escape the war. The Russian government advertised these abductions to the world as being rescued from the war, placing them in foster homes and giving them Russian citizenship. The Children’s Rights Commission established programs that would re-educate Ukrainian children, and Russian nationalism was used as a form of indoctrination. Currently, Maria Lvova-Belova, the Children’s Rights commissioner, is reported to be “the mother and guardian of 22 mostly adopted children.”
Lvova-Belova and Putin present the facade of humanitarian efforts aimed at saving children, yet their underlying motives are far more sinister. During a videotaped session in 2022 with Lvova-Belova, Putin stated, “We are facing an emergency; I believe we must focus on the interests of the children rather than get caught up in red tape.” This statement further justified the mass illegal deportations of Ukrainian children from war-torn regions. On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for both Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin, citing the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia. While the likelihood of their arrests remains slim, this development underscores global recognition of the crimes committed against Ukraine by Russia.
In alignment with the Trump Administration, Putin’s ungovernable agenda seeks to advance genocide against the Ukrainian people. The Trump Administration has repeatedly disseminated misinformation regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war while simultaneously suspending aid and support for this long-standing ally. Although the close political friendship between Trump and Putin is well-known, the emergence of this new era of corruption is increasingly alarming on multiple fronts.
On March 6, 2025, Trump began contemplating the removal of the temporary legal status of nearly 240,000 Ukrainians who were welcomed into the United States by the prior administration. While no decision has yet been finalized, anxiety is widespread among those who sought asylum in the United States. Should such a decision be enacted, Ukrainian refugees could face deportation as early as April, pushing them closer to the imminent front of dictatorial terror.
Ukraine’s fate rests on the strength of its alliances, and the outcome could be catastrophic, potentially extinguishing the nation’s hope for recovery. Russia’s conduct in this war constitutes genocide. By abducting Ukrainian children—the very generation crucial for the nation’s post-war recovery—Russia aims to erase Ukraine’s future by depriving it of its next generation. Without this new generation, what will Ukraine become but a story our grandmothers tell us over coffee and vodka?