According to a Reuters source in Crimea, any information about Ukrainian orphans taken out of Ukraine has been declared strictly confidential in the region, and any requests from Western media are required to be immediately reported to the authorities of the annexed Crimea.
This was done on the order of the head of the annexed Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, an unnamed official from the region told the publication.
A Reuters report on Thursday said that children from institutions in Kherson region were taken to annexed Crimea at different times after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and separated into different institutions.
At least one of the teenagers tried to be taken back by his godmother in 2023, but the Russian authorities did not allow her to do so and deported her.
Background. To recap, the SBU detained an enemy accomplice who helped deport Ukrainian children to Russia.