The Humanitarian Research Lab estimates that 36,000 Ukrainian children have been displaced to Russia, using data from selfies of Russian officials to locate them.

At the request of the American State Department, the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) has begun an investigation into the number of Ukrainian children displaced by Russian authorities. HRL Director Nathaniel Raymond emphasized the difficulty of this task, considering that many children are hidden and protected by Russian security services. However, a mistake by Russian officials, who posted selfies with Ukrainian children without disabling location services, allowed HRL to obtain their geographical coordinates.

Analyzing the available data, HRL identified 210 re-education and military camps in Russia, estimating the total number of displaced children at 36,000. After the issuance of an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin by the ICC, Russian authorities ceased to publish information about these children, trying to hide the evidence. Raymond emphasized that the fate of these children must be a priority in the current negotiations. Additionally, HRL faces the risk of shutting down its operations due to funding cuts, considering that it has transmitted its data to Europol.