Russia’s birth rate is about 1.1 which puts them well below replacement rate and into terminal decline. They have now kidnapped more than 22,000 Ukrainian children and forcibly relocated them to Russia and placed them with new post parents, giving them forced Russian citizenship.

But they will never be able to steal enough children to save their country.

Russia’s crimes against Ukrainian children are shockingly well-documented—often by Russia itself.
• Right after the invasion, Russia changed its laws to make it easier to give Ukrainian kids Russian citizenship. This wasn’t random—it was part of a larger, intentional effort to take children from Ukraine.
• Russian officials have openly advertised programs that take Ukrainian kids from occupied areas to Russia, often disguised as “summer camps” or “rehabilitation.”
• Just recently, on March 19, 2025, a Russian-installed official in Zaporizhia said they’re sending 70 kids to a camp in Crimea for “rest and recovery”—with help from Russia’s Ministry of Education.
• Russia claims this is humanitarian. But if it really were, they’d send the children back to Ukrainian territory—not deeper into the hands of the invaders.