Russia's war against Ukraine is over a year old, and as the conflict continues, Herbie Newell of Lifeline Children's Services tells AFN one of Russia's most outrageous acts involves more than 6,000 Ukrainian orphans who have been relocated to Russia.
He says some have been adopted by Russians, even though they have living parents.
"Their parents were just maybe impoverished, or they had placed them in an institution for a short term until they get back on their feet," Newell details. "They weren't available for adoption. They were living in these, what they're called in Ukraine is internat, which are boarding schools for kids that are from hard places. These kids should never have been taken out of Ukraine."
An additional concern is that the children will be used for criminal purposes.
"It's bringing the risk of human trafficking; it's bringing the risk of interrupting innocent children and innocent families," Newell warns. "We speak out against human trafficking and anything that's done against a child, against a human that's against their most basic rights given to them by God."
In late March, Newell issued a statement in support of S.Res.128, "A resolution condemning the Russian Federation's kidnapping of Ukrainian children." The resolution was authored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina).
But aside from bringing the issue to light and speaking out against it, he encourages believers to pray, because only God can prevent those children from becoming spoils of war.
