Four families, four stories of separation. The authors of ‘Stolen Youth,’ a new book from Meduza about how Russia abducted thousands of Ukrainian children, explain why they wrote it.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, thousands of Ukrainian children have ended up in Russia. The scenarios varied: some fled the combat zone, and the only way out led through the Russian border; others were taken from occupied territories deeper into the occupying country, often under false pretenses, such as a school trip; still others were sent by their own parents to Russian…