“Navigator,” the person who had ordered the youngsters faraway from the church, visited the foster house repeatedly. He would later be recognized as Igor Kastyukevich, a Russian member of Parliament from Mr. Putin’s political get together, United Russia.
Anna Kuznetsova, a deputy chairwoman within the Russian Parliament and Ms. Lvova-Belova’s predecessor as kids’s rights commissioner, traveled from Moscow to ship child merchandise on behalf of the get together. “#WeDon’tAbandonOurOwn,” she wrote on Telegram, utilizing a pro-war hashtag to recommend that the youngsters belonged to Russia.
In interviews with The Occasions, Russian officers echoed that view, saying that the youngsters from Kherson have been Russian.
In Might, Mr. Putin fulfilled his promise to Ms. Lvova-Belova by issuing a presidential decree that eased citizenship necessities: In Kherson and different occupied areas, Ukrainian caregivers might now file for Russian citizenship on behalf of Ukrainian foster kids and orphans.
The decree additionally expedited the method in order that kids might develop into Russian residents in 90 days or much less, as a substitute of as much as 5 years.
The subsequent month, Ms. Korniyenko, the director of the foster house, was summoned to Kherson’s Ministry of Well being, now run by the occupation authorities. A Russian-backed official requested her to stay the director, however underneath his supervision. She was even supplied a Russian passport.
However Ms. Korniyenko refused. She’d had sufficient of the occupiers, who, she stated, intimidated the employees by asking them about their political opinions in a check of their allegiance and carried weapons whereas monitoring the youngsters.
Dr. Lukina resigned, too. She cared deeply in regards to the kids, however she didn’t need to have any position in what Russian-backed officers may do to them.
“I didn’t need to participate in it,” she stated. “And I used to be afraid that they might take me away as nicely.”
In the hunt for a brand new director, the occupation authorities turned to Dr. Tetiana Zavalska, a pediatrician on the foster house who usually labored evening and weekend shifts. She was sympathetic to the brand new occupation administration and made clear her pro-Russian views.
