RUSSIA TOOK THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN KIDS. CAN PEACE TALKS BRING THEM HOME?
WORLD
Vladimir Putin could not make out the names of the missing children that appeared on the screen in front of him.
They were printed in tiny letters, 339 in all, each representing a child abducted from the war zone in Ukraine and, according to authorities in Kyiv, forcibly taken to Russia. Putin had never been confronted with the list in public, and he showed no particular interest in reading it.
It was June 4, a warm day in Moscow, exactly three years, three months, and 11 days since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. In keeping with the habit of reclusiveness that he has cultivated during the war, the Russian President convened a meeting of his aides and ministers that day via video call. Their somber faces appeared in little boxes on his screen, while Putin sat at his desk alone.
They had a lot on their agenda. Three ...