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How Moscow grabs Ukrainian kids and makes them Russians

Olga Lopatkina, left, and Maksim arrive home after a walk in a park in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from Lopatkina to collect her children who were evacuated from Mariupol. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Olga Lopatkina and her children pose for a photo in front of their house in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from Lopatkina to collect her children who were evacuated from Mariupol. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Olga Lopatkina speaks to The Associated press during an interview in a park in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. She told herself every day that the war would end fast. It was the 21st century, after all. Instead, it edged closer. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Olga Lopatkina, center, serves her family a snack, in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from Lopatkina to collect the children who were evacuated from Mariupol. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Timofey sits in a car in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. It took Timofey a couple of days before he could believe he was really back with his parents after being separated from them during the war. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Timofey shows a tattoo of three daggers, which could symbolize protection, bravery or power, he got months ago before leaving Ukraine, in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. At 17, Timofey was suddenly the father to all his siblings when they were separated from their parents during the war. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Boys from an orphanage in the Donetsk region sit in beds at a camp in Zolotaya Kosa, the settlement on the Sea of Azov, Rostov region, southwestern Russia, Friday, July 8, 2022. Russia portrays its adoption of Ukrainian children as an act of generosity that gives new homes and medical resources to helpless minors. (AP Photo) Diana, left, Lena and Sonya, right, from the Donetsk region craft in the playroom at a camp in Zolotaya Kosa, the settlement on the Sea of Azov, Rostov region, southwestern Russia, Friday, July 8, 2022. Russia portrays its adoption of Ukrainian children as an act of generosity that gives new homes and medical resources to helpless minors. (AP Photo) Ukrainian children Olesya Lyadchenko, left, and Yaroslava Rogachyova attend a camp in Zolotaya Kosa, the settlement on the Sea of Azov, Rostov region, southwestern Russia, Friday, July 8, 2022. An Associated Press investigation has found that Russia’s strategy to take Ukrainian orphans and bring them up as Russian is well underway. Yaroslava said she will miss the sea and Donetsk, but she has already met – only via video link by then her new family and likes them. (AP Photo) Timofey, right, touches Sasha's head in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. At 17, Timofey was suddenly the father to all his siblings when they were separated from their parents during the war. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Maksim, left, Eduardo, Timofey, front center, and Varvara, right, play in a park in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. An Associated Press investigation has found that Russia’s strategy to take Ukrainian orphans and bring them up as Russian is well underway. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from their mother to collect them. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Timofey, left, and Denys Lopatkin watch TikTok videos from Ukraine in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. It took Timofey a couple of days before he could believe he was really back with his parents after being evacuated from Mariupol. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from his mother to collect her children. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Olga Lopatkina and her family walk in a park in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from Lopatkina to collect her children who were evacuated from Mariupol. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez) Children from different orphanages from the Donetsk region, eat a meal at a camp in Zolotaya Kosa, the settlement on the Sea of Azov, Rostov region, southwestern Russia, Friday, July 8, 2022. Russia's open effort to adopt Ukrainian children and bring them up as Russian is emerging as one of the most explosive issues of the war. (AP Photo) FILE - Seen through a broken window, a fire burns at an apartment building after the shelling of a residential district in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 11, 2022. An Associated Press investigation has found that Russia’s strategy to take Ukrainian orphans and bring them up as Russian is well underway. Thousands of children have been found in the basements of war-torn cities like Mariupol and at orphanages in the Russian-backed separatist territories of Donbas. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) Olga Lopatkina embraces her adopted children in a park in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from Lopatkina to collect her children who were evacuated from Mariupol. An Associated Press investigation has found that Russia’s strategy to take Ukrainian orphans and bring them up as Russian is well underway. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)