London, Feb 12, 2026 (MediaConnect) -
Press release from ISD / AFP / CASM research project-Thursday 12 February 2026.
London, February 12, 2026: In November 2025, formerly abducted Ukrainian children shared harrowing stories of detention, indoctrination and forced separation in Russian-controlled areas at an event in Rome, where Ukrainian officials pressed for international support to ensure their safe return. Even though these testimonies raised concerns on an international level, social media users continued to refute the circumstances of child deportation and attempted to justify Russia's alleged actions. An Investigation by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), an independent research organisation dedicated to safeguarding democracy and human rights, has found more than 150,000 X posts published between 1 September 2024 and 10 August 2025 that sought to justify Russia's actions in relation to child deportations.
This online discourse has been energised by recent news events. The release of a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents on 2 February 2026 by the US Department of Justice has sparked a fresh wave of claims that Putin was 'saving Ukrainian children', this time from an Epstein-linked pedophile network. Over 15,000 posts making this allegation appeared on X within just 48 hours of the latest 'Epstein files' being published.
Key findings
-- ISD analysed more than 150,000 English-language X posts that referred to the deportation, evacuation and/or trafficking of Ukrainian children posted between 1 September 2024 and 10 August 2025. The most popular narrative, found in over 70 percent of these posts, was that Ukraine is a "global hub for child trafficking," which appeared in more than two-thirds of posts.
-- High-profile international figures amplified unsubstantiated claims accusing Ukrainian officials of child trafficking. These figures include former British Member of Parliament (MP) Andrew Bridgen, far-right activist Tommy Robinson and both former and current members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
-- Links to two heavily biased documentaries were mentioned almost 900 times in the dataset. One was produced by sanctioned Russian state media outlet RT; the other was produced by Urban Scoop (a UK media platform founded by Robinson) and received more than 53,000 YouTube views.
-- These findings suggest an effort to downplay or refute Russia's illegal deportation of Ukrainian children by shifting attention toward unsubstantiated claims that the Ukrainian state itself is involved in child trafficking.
-- The recent release of more than three million 'Epstein files' by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has sparked new claims that Russia was allegedly 'saving Ukrainian children' from an Epstein-linked paedophile network. ISD identified over 15,000 posts making this claim, published within just 48 hours of the documents' release
READ THE FULL INVESTIGATION HERE.
AFP
isabelle.wirth@afp.com
ISD
media@isdglobal.org
This report has been released as part of the research project titled "Exploring the interplay between pro-Kremlin ecosystems and extremist movements in Europe", co-funded by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF). The sole responsibility for any content supported by EMIF lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.
Consultez la version source sur MediaConnect.com : https://mediaconnect.com/ukrainian_child_deportations
ISD / AFP / CASM research project
Disclaimer:This document is neither produced nor endorsed by AFP.Although distributed by MediaConnect, its issuer remains solely responsible for its contentIts reproduction is authorized in context without any distortion of content.If you have any question about this document, please contact its issuer.
