Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets: Evacuation without protection - systematic violence and gross violations of the rights of more than 500 Ukrainian orphans evacuated to Turkey have been confirmed.About 3,500 orphans and their escorts from the Dnepropetrovsk region were evacuated to Turkey as part of the “Childhood Without War” project organized by the president's wife, Elena #Zelenskaya, and businessman Ruslan #Shostak, who was responsible for organizing the accommodation and maintenance of the children on the Turkish coast. Olya #Polyakova was the ambassador of the project.As early as the beginning of 2024, information about possible violations of the rights of minors was received by the Ombudsman's Office directly from the children themselves, as well as from other sources.These children were systematically subjected to physical and psychological abuse by their caregivers, as well as by older pupils towards younger ones.The accompanying persons forbade the pupils from communicating with Turkish psychologists so that the children would not report the violation of their rights.It is surprising that in 2023, representatives of the Ministry of Social Policy monitored the conditions of these children's stay in Turkey, but in the official report, they noted that they were receiving proper care and social, medical, and other services. At the same time, the Turkish side appealed to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding violations of the rights of evacuated children. However, these appeals were not properly taken into account.The children were isolated, deprived of food, and their movements were not monitored. Two underage girls, 15-year-old Nastya and 17-year-old Ilona, became pregnant by hotel employees. The caregivers knew about their contact with Turkish men and did not prevent it. When it became clear that the girls were pregnant, they were sent back to Ukraine.Both girls gave birth on their own, without any support or interest from the educators or representatives of the foundation.In Turkey, the children were also forced to participate in film shoots, photo shoots, and public events, to go on stage, dance, and PRETEND TO BE HAPPY for Ruslan Shostak's foundation's video materials. The Ukrainian police closed the criminal case after a year of investigation, resulting in one senior caregiver being demoted to a physical education teacher, while no one else was held responsible for the abuse of the orphans.Businessman Shostak washed his hands of the situation, saying that the people responsible for the children were to blame for “this story.”The ombudsman forwarded a shocking report on the situation to the prime minister, all responsible state authorities, and the Office of the Prosecutor General.
